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monster-energies · 2 years

Text

i’ve gotta get better, and maybe we’ll work it out

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

pairing: severus snape/reader

summary: with severus snape taking full force of harry potter's occulmency lessons, he wished he was anywhere except near the boy who lived, but when a heated lesson forces old memories back into severus' mind, he doesn't seem to take them well. will he let you in with open arms ?

warnings: HEAVY ANGST !! self harm, self doubt, lots of hurt/comfort, this includes references to snape’s worst memory from order of the phoenix, very anti-marauders/anti-james potter so don’t start making arguments about my fic please.

rating: mature

ʚ♡ɞ please click here if you would like to be apart of my taglist

ʚ♡ɞ taglist: @insomniacaesthetic @eternal-silvertongued-prince @sevsssnape @mirarenwick @diamondbitch116 @mamawolfsmith16 @nickangel13 @a-queen-and-her-throne @deepperplexity @amazingzou @yan-senna @yellowbadgermole

word count: 6067

this oneshot can be found on archive of our own

author’s note: title's namesake is lyrics from the song meet me in the hallway by harry styles.

so....im back....again 🕺🏼✨

okay hi long time no see. university had me at the throat and i had zero motivation to write zero fiction. thats literally the reason why there's been a huge gap in my fanfics, nothing whacky like the typical ao3 author. just uni.

i didn't want to write something half arsed and post it, especially when i have this long ass break so i will be living and laughing and luvvin xx or whatever.

this includes references to snape’s worst memory from order of the phoenix, very anti-marauders/anti-james potter so don’t start making arguments about my fic please.

in light of america overturning roe v wade and the uk making attempts to reform the human rights act, i will be linking resources for both these things. ABORTION RESOURCES https://www.ineedana.com/ https://www.plancpills.org/ https://digitaldefensefund.org/ https://abortionfunds.org/ https://www.change.org/p/defend-roe-pass-legislation-to-protect-abortion-access https://www.weareplannedparenthood.org/Rz9pIXDqUk-c0wl1RoiKrA2?sourceid=1010856 https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/protect-roe-v-wade-save-reproductive-rights?source=twitter HUMAN RIGHTS RESOURCES https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/607712 https://www.change.org/p/justice-secretary-dominic-raab-human-rights-act-reform-must-be-stopped-now https://action.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/page/100020/petition/1?locale=en-GB https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/ once again, please support these causes and sign petitions !!

i hope you enjoy this oneshot, reblogs and comments are highly appreciated 💕💕

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

no one ever really saw the true severus.

there was never a chance for him to show how he truly felt about things, which was until he met you. you had been nothing short of an acquaintance to him, someone who worked with him. how he met you was like any other person, you had taken up the defence against the dark arts post, a job he had always been rejected of by dumbledore. but you seemed to be much different, you looked as if you knew what you were doing as you continued to teach at hogwarts.

you seemed to be a natural at teaching such an extreme subject. but once everything unravelled, how your parents used to be death eaters, you had no choice but to protect yourselves from them. you were quite closed off at first, but meeting severus changed you also, making you just a bit kinder in life.

after he had finally brought the courage to confess his true feelings to you, you admitted to liking him back and exchanging some of your own feelings to him. severus only wanted nothing but to make you happy, and happiness you brought him.

he was on cloud nine whenever he was around you, even at the slight mention of you from his students or colleagues would bring his attention in an instant. he truly was lucky upon meeting you, through the confides of his own chambers he was safer with you.

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

he never entirely considered sharing his private quarters with someone, but now that you were with him, and rightfully you weren’t going anywhere, there was no point staying apart for this long.

severus decided he was going to ask you today, but at what time? should he wear a new suit? that would be ridiculous, he didn’t have the time to do so.

he had been lingering around in the hallways, waiting for your class to end. he heard the scraping of chairs and the chatter amongst students, he managed to catch a glimpse of some of his seventh-year potions students, who for some had been quite fortunate to have advanced classes from him which made him smirk to himself. he was to have that advanced potion class at the very end of his schedule.

he then made his way into your classroom, sneaking up on you before he found way to you, wrapping his long cloak around your body, placing small kisses on your face.

“hello, their professor, what may i do for you?” you asked, a smile beaming on your face as you turned to him returned his kisses, placing yourself at the edge of your desk.

“your hands.” you pointed out. his brows raised slightly, the moment he looked to his fingertips severus had noticed there had been a light tremble to them. you took his hands and squeezed them slightly.

“you have no need to be scared around me anymore.” you reassured; severus’ lips twitched slightly. oh he was very lucky alright.

“i understand that y/n...i happen to not be so on edge whenever you’re near.” severus said, his thumb stroking your knuckles, that resplendent smile of yours yet to fade away.

“actually, i have a question to ask you.” he said. you perked slightly as your hands were still woven with his.

“you do? what do you have to ask me sev?” you asked.

severus simply couldn’t forget the question, the most important question to him (other than a marriage proposal of course.)

“well, we’ve been…together for some time. and i...i just. would you like to move into my quarters?” severus blurted.

you blinked slightly. severus’ brows furrowed, his expression saddening as you had yet to say a single thing.

he had willingly prepared himself for you to say no, but once he looked up and saw that loving smile of yours, relief washed over him.

“you know i’ve been waiting for you to ask me for months, of course i will.” you replied, getting off the ledge of the table, reaching to your tiptoes to press a soft kiss.

severus’ hands cupped your cheek and your neck as your kiss lasted perhaps a little more than five seconds.

“you weren’t going to say no?” severus asked.

“why would i ever decline such a thing my dear. i’d be more than happy to move into your chambers tonight, tomorrow…but don’t count on me waking up early.” you answered.

he had felt a weight being lifted upon asking you that, and he couldn’t wait to have you around his quarters.

“gather your things, you can move in tonight.” severus said, his fingers dwindling at your hair as he looked at your beaming face, you pulled yourself into severus’ arms as you were excited beyond belief at his answer.

letting go from his grasp, you both stood there for a while admiring one another, both your thoughts pondering at how fortunate you were to have one another.

he stared intently at your eyes, how they wavered in varying directions as you gazed lovingly at him.

“you have a class soon sev.” you pointed out to him before he quickly snapped out of it and was about to leave to continue his lessons that were planned for the day. but you were quick to grab his hand and press a quick kiss to his cheek.

“i love you. i’ll see you tonight.” you spoke.

“i love you, my dear y/n.” severus said, before the let go of your hands and left your class.

with his cloak billowing behind him as he made his way back to the realms of his potions class, a small smirk appeared to his face. he truly hadn’t been this lucky in years, it was as if every thought he had of the past had disappeared and whilst he never revealed his emotions, he truly was on cloud nine.

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

the night was upon you both, you and severus had finished classes for the day. a spring in your step occurred as you almost sprinted to your quarters to gather all your things from your chambers in boxes. you heard a knock on your door, you rushed to open it and there he was.

he peered over your shoulder to see you had already packed everything. “sometimes y/n you forget you are a wizard.” severus said, waving his wand and in an instant all your things had disappeared.

“they would have transported to my quarters by now.” he said.

“okay okay, no need to show off.” you teased playfully slapping his chest as you took his hand made your way down to the spiral stairs to his quarters.

you opened the door and to no surprise, your belongings had arrived right in front of you both. “merlin how many clothes does one need?” severus asked completely taken aback at the mound of clothes you had owned.

it seemed as if you had something for every occasion you picked up some of the boxes and unpacked some of your clothes. you went into his bedroom and had noticed that even severus did his part in settling you in his chambers. you arranged your clothes in the wardrobes and drawers he had prepared, then you put your shoes next to his own pairs. once the clothes were organized, you saw severus had arranged your belongings all around his. your work next to his and all your prized possessions around the chambers.

“you seem to know your way around making a room look very cosy.” you said, it looked like he knew your vision and it felt right for the both of you.

knowing severus never felt like home with his own family, he did everything he could in order to make his chambers look like a place that his teenage self would love to be in.

“did you manage to settle into the bedroom?” he asked. you nodded, you lead him into the bedroom and had saw all your clothes and your personal belongings right there.

“i think we deserve a little bit of rest don’t you think?” you suggested, sitting at the edge of the bed. severus followed suit and sat beside you, he shifted around slightly looking over at his night shirt that had been hanging inside the wardrobe.

“oh, you want to get changed. i’m sorry about keeping you from doing that hold on.” you said, getting a hold of severus’ night shirt and handing it to him before you left and shut the door on him.

severus hadn’t ever met anyone that respected his boundaries or his limits, the fact that you put him first was something he was beyond fortunate for.

he hadn’t ever been fond of getting changed in front of anyone or revealing his body of any sorts. not since the day that wretched james potter and his little clique bullied him relentlessly in losing his one friend he had when he was at school. that didn’t matter anymore, why on earth would that memory resurface now? when he seemed to be at a position where he was most content with himself?

once severus finally got changed, he opened the door as an indication for you to finally come inside. you went inside and got into the bed with severus, laying down together severus had found himself staring at the ceiling, deep in thought as he finally let you into his quarters.

“it’s saturday tomorrow, am i mistaken?” he asked.

you peered over your watch and looked at the small calendar that sat on your bedside table. “yes, it will be.” you spoke.

severus only hummed, shifting himself to the other side of the bed. his eyes glaring at the door, but his gaze was soon averted to you as you peppered kisses all over his cheek and his neck left somewhat bare. you could only see a smirk on his face as he pulled you into his arms and you laid on his chest, his heart softly beating against your ear.

“would you care to do something you enjoy tomorrow, my dear?” he offered. you nodded with a grin to your face.

“what would you like to do sev?” you asked.

“my darling y/n i insist you pick what we do tomorrow.” he said. you couldn’t but giggle and kiss your lover.

your lips lingered on for just a while longer, severus’ scent clung onto you as both gazed into each other’s eyes once you pulled away.

“how about we go to that little pond you showed me? then we do little to nothing of importance and just read to one another, how does that sound?” you suggested.

“that seems like the perfect plan y/n.” severus answered.

you smiled more at his response, nuzzling your head into his chest and a deep chuckle emerged from his lips, kissing the top of your head.

“you’re perfect y/n. my angel.” he murmured under his breath.

you were nothing but perfect to him.

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

“can we just rest? we’ve been at it for hours!” the young boy harry potter exclaimed at severus, trying to make his way to the door to hurry out.

severus had no choice but to teach harry potter the art of occlumency, lord voldemort had returned and had to do all he can to protect the boy, despite his intense grudge.

“the dark lord isn’t…resting.” severus said, taking a glimpse into his eyes, grimacing instantly at how potter menacingly looks familiar to his bully. unfortunately, the bully just so happened to be his father.

“you and black you’re two of a kind, sentimental children. forever whining about how bitterly unfair your lives have been. well, it may have escaped your noticed, but life isn’t fair. your blessed father knew that, in fact he frequently sought to it.” severus said.

“my father was a great man!” harry defended.

“your father was a swine!” severus exclaimed.

grabbed a hold of his jacket, almost flinging him onto the other side of the classroom but before he could continue with his lesson, he saw harry had taken out his wand.

“legilimens.”

“protego!”

it had all happened so quickly and yet it was all too late for severus snape, his past slowly unravelling in front of the boy who lived.

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

the art of legilimency and occlumency is unlike any other type of magic. it was nothing like looking at memories through a pensive, where you can see the whole story.

it can only let you see the snippets of a person’s timeline. who they were before the moment, why they had become the human they were today? unfortunately for severus snape, every day seemed to be a horrible memory for him.

nothing ever seemed to go correctly for the poor boy and even when he was in the place where he should have escaped from reality, not even that seemed to heal him from all the torment he had to go through.

but nothing could ever leave his mind, that was his worst memory.

unravelled at the seams.

“come on, moony, padfoot. expelliarmus!”

his memories unleashed, he saw his wand being flung 12 feet in the air and falling on the grass. the marauders and a few students giggling at this interaction mocking him relentlessly. severus always felt on edge, he felt defenceless against them, and it was all because of a friendship he had.

the only friendship he had.

“nice one, james.” sirius cheered.

after countless incantations of hexes from james, severus found himself flipped upside down, struggling to keep himself composed in this moment.

severus had the constant urge to spit out varying hexes at james but theres was certainly nothing he could do about it, especially when he was upside down.

“scourgify!”

severus heard but he couldn’t do anything as pink soapy bubbles streamed from snape's mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him. the chemical bubbles drooling out of his mouth, he had been suffocating physically and emotionally.

“leave him alone!”

“take the curse off him!”

he could recognize that voice anywhere, that was lily evans. he had heard james sighing deeply and muttering the counter curses, letting him go of the magical hostage he was put under.

“you're lucky evans was here, snivellus-” james sneered.

“i don't need help from filthy little mudbloods like her!” severus snapped, but his eyes instantly widened, instant regret washed over his face as he turned to lily who was too stunned to speak.

“fine.” she said. “i won't bother in future. and i'd wash your pants if i were you, snivellus.”

“apologise to evans!” james screeched, his wand pointed directed to his neck.

“i don't want you to make him apologise.” lily shouted, approaching james as she looked to the two boys, fighting like 2 toddlers. “you're as bad as he is.” said she, rolling her eyes and glaring darts at severus.

“i could never call you a you-know-what!” james had admitted, however severus couldn’t seem to read his tone, he didn’t know if this was complete sarcasm or whether he was being genuine with his words. only one thing for certain was that james potter was a menace and a bully, and he would have done it again had opportunity knocked.

after being scalded by the young girly, she turned on her heel and hurried away.

a silence occurred in the field, severus’ guilt more unbearable than ever but james simply couldn’t care less as he reverted all his hexes and spells back onto the slytherin boy.

“right. who wants to see me take off snivelly's trousers?” james suggested, the smirk on his face never leaving.

he heard the chants and cheers of the students around him, snivellus greasy.

that was all he heard.

“snivellus greasy.”

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

“enough…enough!” severus yelled, his voice deepening by the second. harry taken aback at the thoughts he had seen.

harry had shifted around to see whether he was left back into reality, but once he turned to the front, he saw severus right in front of him, jolting slightly in his steps and almost knocking a few of his vials over, one empty vial however had smashed right onto severus’ hand as he went to grab the boy, his hand bleeding over the shards of glass that stuck to his hand.

it really was something out of a horror movie and harry had no words to describe the moment.

“having fun?” severus’ voice growled, before grabbing a harsh hold of his shirt.

“you’ve been enjoying yourself…haven’t you?” severus sneered, his teeth grinding on every word.

“i haven’t-”

“amusing man your father was.” severus sneered, before flinging the boy who lived onto the ground.

“you will not tell a single soul what you saw.” severus demanded harshly.

“i wasn’t going-”

“and your lessons are at an end.” severus monotonously added.

“get. out.” severus said. but harry had been frozen this entire time.

severus turn, his cloak swiftly following after, but it wasn’t as smooth or blissful like his demeanour, his brows furrowed with rage as he grabbed the boy, bashing his head to the wall.

“i don’t want to see you in this office, again! now. leave!” severus exclaimed.

letting go of the boy, harry had rushed out, shaken up by the encounter that he had with severus.

severus leaned to the shelf, his bloody hand drying up slowly as more blood trailed all over his hands.

tears swelled in his eyes, glaring at the table riddled with vials and cauldrons. by now they had been nothing but a blur, grabbing his wand and waving multiple silencing charms, his arms swiped the whole desk empty as screams of trauma left his voice. his cloak and frock coat torn to tiny pieces that matched the varying shards that flew all over the room.

severus’ eyes darted towards every shelf and took down everything on there in fury, with his sobs morphing into screams he felt powerless in his own life, not even he could control the fate that had remained of him.

his childhood filled with nothing but hatred from his father, whilst his mother sat there helpless, and all bruised up and not able to feed him. his father being nothing short of a monster. he remembered lily; she was so happy with him.

telling her that she was a wizard and they promised that they were going to be the best of friends.

at hogwarts.

that was supposed to be a place that he could get away from, but even then, hogwarts managed to haunt him every day he was there.

no matter where he went, he always got the short end of the stick, he always had a dark cloud raining all over him and it drained him constantly.

this was the last straw for severus snape.

his screams were deafening in the potions class, his pained voice rang throughout the entire room as the tears soon flooded his entire uniform.

severus reached for his sleeves, tearing them up more than it already was and grabbed his wand, pointing to his arm.

“sectum….sempra!” he hissed out, waving his wand in the directions he wanted, his arms filled with fresh scars, dripping all over the concrete ground. he chanted his own spell once more at his arms, and more blood appeared on his arms where the dark mark was.

he swore to himself he was never going to return to that time in his life, his worst moment and he still failed horribly.

he failed.

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

“oh harry! there you are. have you seen professor snape anywhere?” you asked

“yes, i think he’s…in his class.” harry gulped.

you took a closer look at the young boy, he had been sweating bullets, and looked almost dehydrated.

“harry, are you okay? don’t tell me you and professor snape had another argument again.” you said.

“no! what makes you think that? i’m fine professor l/n!” he said in a hushed manner and hurriedly walked away.

that was very odd of him. no doubt harry would have come out of severus’ classes quite heated and angry from whatever argument he would have from the potions master, but this was odd. you continued to walk in the direction of severus’ class. but the sounds of glass muffled in the distance.

your eyes widened as you sprinted towards the door.

panic written all over your face.

once you opened the door, you saw the state of the potions classroom and there stood severus, hunched over at his desk, trembling at the seams.

“severus…” you called softly, his face twisted towards your direction, you feared what he had done or what was he going to do.

“you shouldn’t be…here. leave! leave now!” severus screamed his voice getting louder at every word.

manically throwing anything within his proximity, turmoil of emotions rushed into the man as he approached you, pointing his wand at your neck but you couldn’t do anything as you had backed up against the wall, his hands gripping at the fabric of your clothing as the tip of his wand poked at your neck and yet all you could do was panic.

“severus what are you doing? please stop!” you exclaimed.

“you cannot be here, get out now!” he shouted.

“severus it’s me! sev…don’t! it’s me, y/n.” you shrieked in an instant. severus paused for a moment, he took a glimpse in your worried eyes as he dropped his wand down.

a long tense silence commenced between you two, severus slowly walked toward his desk and slumped himself on his chair, completely drained.

you frowned, but the second you took a glimpse of all of his injuries you didn’t hesitate to help him instantly. you looked into his cupboard and there you saw a muggle first aid kit; you couldn’t help but think of how severus said it would be silly to have such a thing. you had magic, why would you need some silly muggle hospitality?

you picked up a nearby bowl, filling it up with water. you sat by severus and saw how much you would have to take care of.

but it didn’t bother you in the slightest.

you had cleaned up every wound he had on his arms, which made severus wince at how harsh the pain was. he tried so hard not to show you how hurt he was, but you could see through it, and it saddened you.

“it’s okay sev, i’ll be done soon.” you comforted him as you continued to treat his fresh scars. you then bandaged his arms and made sure the bandages weren’t too tight for him.

“why?”

you perked up at severus’ voice.

“why do you insist on helping me?” severus croaked.

it almost shocked you that severus would ask such a question.

can a man that has done so much, a man that has the world on his shoulders not be helped?

did he really think he was not loved?

it made you laugh slightly, which made severus perplexed. and yet he was so certain you were laughing at him.

“i just want to help you.” you answered.

severus eyes spoke a million words, insisting you continue.

“you always help me in everything that i’ve done here. you know how to pick me up when i’m sad or i’m not in the most…charitable of moods. it’s only fair that i do the same with you severus.” you spoke.

“please…look at me.” you pleaded.

severus looked into your eyes, as they filled with small tears.

“there is always someone who will cherish you and care for you, no matter what the situation. that just so happened to be me. how long have we been together, and you always cheer me up? hm? you are simply the highlight of my day, waking up in your arms, being given affection from you and all the kind things that you do for me is more than enough. i’m certain that all that you do is going to be for a good cause. and i hope you know how much you mean to me, severus.” you spoke.

your hand was cupped at his cheek, you pressed a kiss to his forehead as you then let go of him slowly

“please take care of yourself my dear. i’ll be in our quarters when you’re ready.” you said.

severus enjoyed those two words together.

our chambers.

yes, it felt just right.

“i will.” he muttered to himself, sympathetically you smiled at him before you left to go to the private quarters.

severus grabbed his wand and reversed all the mess that was made. he looked to his torn clothes, and the bandages that you did. his mind instantly screamed for you, waiting for you to come back.

you were what he needed, you helped him let go of his past and he yearned for you always.

severus’ tears occurred once more, the one person he loved dearly still stood by him. once the mess had been completely reversed, he left his classroom to go to his chambers.

he saw you idly reading a book, he approached you and took a hold of your hand lifting you into a warm and tight hug.

“thank you...” severus mumbled.

you only smiled and hugged him even tighter.

“you’re welcome severus.” you replied.

never had he felt so understood and respected more than he did now, you trusted him more than he could ever comprehend.

and that was the key to severus’ heart, right there.

it was you.

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

you had been waiting for severus for quite some time, you wanted to unwind a little bit with him and what better way than to relax by your favourite pond with him.

you had been reading one of severus’ favourite book to keep you company, knowing him you knew he liked to take his time with his appearance. doing each button one by one, on each sleeve that he had on his clothes.

it had been quite warm in the recent days so you sported one of your summer dresses. your eyes lifted themselves from your book and there you saw severus, approaching you slowly as his cloak followed him.

“there you are! i was worried you’d couldn’t find our pond.” you said smiling blissfully at severus.

“i’m severus snape. i never get lost.” he said, with a tinge of pride in his tone.

you couldn’t help but giggle slightly. you’ve always seen severus to the likes of mister darcy.

pride and prejudice had always been one of yours and severus’ favourite books.

even as a child, all the way through to current time, it was a book you simply couldn’t put down. whether it be jane austen’s writing style or your hypnotising hyper fixation on fitzwilliam darcy, you always found the opportunity to read such a book.

severus had shared such similarities to mister darcy, both are unconventionally attractive. while some may not be considered beautiful in today’s society, you found them beautiful on the inside and that was what mattered to you. in fact, both were deemed morally grey (or ambiguous), well severus’ intentions would always be made clear in the end. however, mister darcy’s intentions were never entirely revealed to the poor bennet girl, who believed was being led astray.

both were very much mysterious, but then again you always followed the leads of man with very little to know about. somehow both severus and darcy seemed to see you as nothing more than an acquaintance, however you knew that your version of pride and prejudice, neither of you saw one another as true enemies, nothing short of a friendly rivalry between the pair of and it was all in good spirits.

you had slowly begun to snap out of your comparisons between your lover and fitzwilliam darcy, your hand slowly grasping at the woven basket.

“i made you your favourite.” you said, opening it to reveal cupcakes.

“i knew you had a sweet tooth, and dark chocolate just so happens to be your favourite.” you revealed.

severus would never in a million years admit to anyone that he enjoyed something sweet here and there, but dark chocolate happened to be his favourite. something in its taste felt just right, it wasn’t too sweet nor was it too bitter, the sight of the cupcakes you made was enough to make his mouth water.

taking a small bite of the cupcake he had taken from your grasp, he felt calm. for once he felt certain of himself.

you scooted closer to him and found yourself resting on severus’ arm. he winced harshly which made you instantly get up.

“i didn’t hurt you did i?” you asked worriedly. “oh god i must have, i’m so sorry!” you apologized in a panic.

“y/n, no no! you don’t need to be sorry. it just so happens to be the aftermath of the events last night.” severus replied.

then you slowly realized.

you didn’t check up on severus this morning, before you went and prepared for this little day out you planned.

“how are they?” you asked.

severus’ serene and calm feelings sunk slowly.

“your injuries…i brought some spare bandages in case i needed to re-do them.” you spoke.

you took a hold of his hands and stroked them ever so gently in your grasp.

“its okay. you’re safe here.” you reassured.

severus only sighed, rolling up his sleeves and the bandages revealed themselves. you undid them and there you saw his scars. they had begun to heal ever so slowly.

“the healing spell could have finished this easily.” severus mumbled.

“well…we were tight on time and emotions were quite high.” you admitted.

once you had put the new bandages over severus’ injuries, severus was quick to roll his sleeves down. severus did nothing but worry over the last 24 hours, he hadn’t felt this anxious in years.

you could see the worry in his eyes, to say it concerned you was an understatement. you took a hold of his scraped hands, stroking them softly with your thumb.

“you needn’t worry about your scars. they shape you and show how far you’ve come and how much you have left to give.” you reassured him

severus’ tense body slowly relaxed within your grasp. he truly was grateful for you, his hands slowly let go of yours and cupped your cheek.

he kissed your forehead.

then his lips trailed to the bridge of your nose.

next was your cheek, which made way for him to kiss your jaw.

and finally…your lips.

you both exchanged slow and tender kisses. savouring every single moment with your lips. the bitterness on severus’ lips capsulated you and moved yourself further as you both wanted to share such an intimate moment with one another.

his other hand slowly slithered to your waist, caressing it gently with his fingers which left you yearning for more.

his thumb slowly stroked your bottom lip, you knew severus was always one to tease but it was one of those moments you would cherish.

you then brought the cupcakes and the book you had been reading a little closer, so that they were in severus’ proximity.

“reading pride and prejudice, again my sweet girl?” severus asked.

your smile grew wider upon mentioning of the book. “i just can’t seem to put it down.” you admitted.

you handed the book to severus, flipping to the page you had been reading.

“and this just so happens to be your favourite page.” severus said.

you rested your head on severus’ chest, his voice sending shivers down your spine listening to him read.

“in vain i have struggled. it will not do. my feelings will not be repressed. you must allow me to tell you how ardently i admire and love you.” severus read.

then there was silence between the pair of you. nothing but the birds tweeting, the sound of the pond’s water flowing slower than a turtle, the quiet breeze that your hair shortly followed.

“you really like that line, don’t you?” he said.

“it just truly captures mister darcy at his finest.” you said before taking a bite out of one of the cupcakes you picked up.

“you haven’t touched your cupcake.” you noted, severus looked down to find his cupcake only having one bite.

he then picked it up and slowly bit into the sweet delicacy, he had been filled with warmth the more bites he took. he truly was at a loss at how fortunate he was to have you; it was truly what he needed after the hectic events of last night.

“hey…sev?” you called to him softly.

he looked down to you as you brought his attention to you, “what are you thinking about?” you asked.

“you.” was all he said.

“who else would i be thinking about? i often feel as if i don’t voice my appreciation for you.” he admitted.

whilst he was a person who was never on top of the social pyramid, some of the things you had done for and with him would have him speechless, severus couldn’t find the words to tell you how much you had meant to him, so he was often left quiet and unable to voice his true feelings.

but whether he had been silent as a rabbit or as loud as a falcon, you loved him for who he was.

“the things you do for me…you are selfless. so selfless, putting myself first before you. and merlin…you are so perfect. so perfect, you still stay with me after all this time.” severus said.

it flattered you greatly, but you had yourself frowning at his doubt.

“you really are something off a classic book. with the way you speak and how beautiful you are to me.” you said as you giggled softly.

“of course, i stay with you always. you really are the one i love. you do so much for me. but you don’t see it sometimes. but here i am…to let you know of that. you, my sweetheart are everything and more. you are so deserving of love severus. i hope you know that i’ll be there to remind you of such. everyday.” you said.

severus’ eyes had been screaming of love, as your expressions filled with bliss and happiness made him feel content.

his hands were placed at your waist as he pulled you closer, hugging you tightly. you did nothing but smile more and more, his bitter scent was so appealing to you as you rested your weary head on severus’ chest.

“oh…is my poor dove tired?” severus asked.

you only nodded, feeling the weight of your eyelids droop heavier. you could do with a nap, after singlehandedly teaching all those students of yours. sometimes you didn’t realize how much hogwarts had required of you.

his fingers made small circles at your back as you didn’t move from the position you were in. severus smiled, for once. not a small smirk, but a smile that beamed ever so blissfully.

“come on y/n, i think you should rest somewhere more comfortable. can you stand for me princess?” he asked.

you only mumbled something that had seemed reminiscent of the word ‘yes’ so you slowly got up as severus put everything in the basket and lifted you in his arms and using his wandless magic to send the basket to the quarters.

“you might need to hold on tight my dear.” he spoke.

you had both apparated to the chambers you shared, he had placed you in the bed and tucked you in, he had slowly followed suit.

“is it naptime?” you mumbled.

severus chuckled deeply; you were perfect for him. “yes, now close your eyes sweetheart. i’ll be here once you wake up.” severus answered.

you buried your head into his chest as he then kissed the top of your head. his mind pondering about you, you were the true gift for him.

he wanted to cherish you if he could, and if you were happy being with him then he didn’t object.

you really did love him.

“rest well, my y/n. i love you.”

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several-more-snakes · 1 year

Text

I’m out here getting pressed for no good reason @ marauders stans

Okay it’s for a good reason their caption was literally just “snape slander” but it feels silly, cue some incoherent rambling below: (I am DEFINITELY about to start my period)

Their post went something like, “when you’re talking to a Harry Potter fan and they’re an ‘always’ fan and you’re a ‘moony’ fan”

Like cool whatever bestie stan Remus! I don’t care, he’s the least gross out of all the marauders!! Hell, I don’t even dislike him that much though my opinion on Remus isn’t really what matters here

But like

I know it’s easy to chalk Severus up to that creepy guy who joined up with the wizard nazis and was hopelessly in love with his childhood best friend, because I was totally in that same boat for a while though I only held those beliefs to impress my crush at the time LMAOOOO

That’s not important rn though

- He joined up with the “wizard nazis” because they were a cult and he was indoctrinated into said cult. He was groomed into feeling like he didn’t belong anywhere else. He may have done this in a misguided attempt to impress Lily as well, but that doesn’t negate the grooming, conditioning, and indoctrination. Those words are all a bit interchangeable, but my point still stands.

- Yes, Severus was canonically in love with Lily for years, but he was never gross or creepy towards her?

- There is the whole ‘mudblood’ incident, which was obviously out of pocket. The subtext there reads that Severus, in total fear for what James was going to do to Lily (I’ll come up with receipts later if need be, but James was literally blackmailing Lily into dating him there) was trying to push her away from him and make it seem to James that they weren’t friends and that he should leave her alone. This was once again very misguided, as is a common theme in Severus’ early life, and it resulted in the usage of a slur, but if you learn to read between the lines there were pure intentions there however nasty his words were. (For the record I don’t ship Snily)

- Also, technically speaking, Severus can reclaim that slur but uh, that’s not exactly my place to speak on (grammar is hard you know what I mean)

- Severus Snape is not a perfect angel who’s done no wrong. He’s killed and tortured in the name of a blood supremacy cult, for one. But he’s not fucking Voldemort either. Not only did he realize the error of his ways and change himself for the better (even if he was only holding up his end of a bargain for a while,) but he watched over and protected Harry very markedly. There’s obviously more but I’m not gonna talk about stuff I don’t have receipts for.

I’m not trying to convince people not to hate him because at the end of the day that’s your call! He’s literally not real!! He’s just some ink on a page, pixels on a screen, or an image in your head. He doesn’t care if you hate him or not, he can’t. He’s not capable of that. I guess I’m just kind of defending him to this person I’ll never speak to.

Hormones man, they make you do things

#pro snape #severus snape #snape community #snape fandom #pro severus snape #fuck jkr

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bisexual-horror-fan · 1 year

Text

"You Feel It Too?" Poly!Camping Boys X FEM! Reader. Fluff.

Today went so well and I am so happy that fuck it, did a little short self indulgent drabble about the reader coming out as polyam to their family and the boys dealing with that. Enjoy.

---

Rating. SFW. Length. 680 Words. Buddy Swanson X Sam Wescott X FEM! Reader. Warnings: Fluff. Concern. Hard Conversations. Coming Out. Polyamory. Brief Mentions Of Murder.

---

“We should be there.” Sam started and Buddy sighed, closing his book, he had been attempting to read but after five passes over the same paragraph while retaining nothing he knew it was a completely futile effort.

His efforts to try and distract and lose himself in the pages of this story was clearly not working. He and Sam were left at home at your shared apartment while you were having a difficult conversation with your family, coming out at long last as polyamorous.

“You know why we can’t be.” Buddy told him, setting the novel aside, “I mean, what if it goes bad man?”

“Exactly! What if it goes bad? Then we could be there for her! Defend her!” Sam tried to assert and Buddy shook his head, “You know just as well as I do that she would hate that, she wants to do this on her own, she wants to feel like she can and if we stepped in like that she’d feel disrespected or like we think she can’t handle herself which she can.”

“I know she can.” Sam grumbled, arms crossed and eyes downcast and Buddy got up off his chair and came over to sit next to his roommate/boyfriend/partner/best friend/whatever relationship label you wanted to slap on it at the moment. “But you still want to be there for her.”

“Exactly.” Green eyes lift to meet blue and Buddy offers up a small smile, a hand resting on his shoulder, “Well we are still going to get to do that for her whenever she gets back, alright?”

Sam seems a bit soothed, a nod as he agrees, “You’re right. I’m just…”

“Worried?” Buddy asks and Sam says, “Yes, so worried! Waiting around here, no clue how it’s going, it’s killing me man!”

“You think it isn’t killing me either? I’m right there with you.” He was, he was really feeling it hard, an arm around his shoulders, a squeeze and Sam leaned into the touch. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, duh Sammy.” The tone makes the other one laugh for the first time since you left. “What? Did you think I was sitting across the room nose in a book because I was calm and unbothered? I’m freaking out too!”

“Okay, okay, knowing I am not alone in this feels good, alright?” Sam was smiling now and Buddy was matching it, “You are right, it does.”

The conversation moved onto other things, still distracting themselves and each other. Thankfully the wait didn’t take much longer until the door unlocks and they hear you come in, calling out, “Honey’s I’m home.”

A shared look and they practically launched off the couch and came towards the front door. You are taking off your shoes, head down and they can’t quite tell how it went, both with nerves returning Buddy asks first, “How’d it go?”

You lifted her head up with a smile, “As good as it could have.”

Sam gripped Buddy’s shoulder, a question of, “So?”

“They accept me. Completely, understand that it is an important part of me that isn’t changing or going anywhere and that I am an adult, it’s my life and my choice to make.” You tell them and a collective sigh of relief is breathed.

“Thank fucking God.” Buddy said and Sam echoed that as he didn’t waste any more time before he was crossing the room and scooping you into a hug, the other man hot on his heels to do the same, inserting himself into it, wrapping you both up.

“Right? I was worried we’d have to dust off the old masks and take em out for a spin again.”

Buddy said much too softly and sweetly for something so brutal and violent. You were sure you’d feel Sam tense over that but he stays loose and relaxed, instead piling on, “Mmm, woulda been terrible to go through all that trouble, think of all the laundry we just saved ourselves.”

You laughed, curling closer with a happy sigh and a big smile, glad you had such wonderful boyfriends.

#Poly!Camping Boys x reader #BHF writing #Sam Wescott X reader #Buddy Swanson X reader #slasher x reader #I love this #Also oh my God is it ever self indulgent

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jingyismom · 3 years

Text

Thanks everyone for the prompts! I decided to try and knock these all out in one go:

@thegirlwhotrashcans: remember, you asked for it. au, nobody dies, wwx and yanli bodyswap. they're married to lwj and jzx. 100% crack. bonus points if jin zixuan completely loses his shit and lwj looks very calm but loses his sh*t after everything is back to normal

@alightbuthappypen: Competency kink! One or both of them (when I say 'them' I mean wangxian obvs, I know what I'm about) getting hot and bothered about the other being amazing. On a nighthunt maybe? Or anywhere else that strikes your fancy!

@hearteyeswangji: WRITE MORE P*RN

I think I can manage that. With a few tweaks, accidental seriousness, and broad, ridiculous fix-its tacked on. I have no idea how long this might be. Let’s try it in installments? I’ll reblog and add on as I go. Maybe it’ll be fun. We’ll find out.

Disclaimer that this is just gonna go for it with no revising and no beta readers, so pls do not hold me to any conceivable standard of coherency thx

WILL INCLUDE: wangxian, xuanli, let jyl and lwj be friends agenda, canon divergence, fix-it, everybody lives, arranged marriage, bodyswap, light angst, getting together, Attempts at Comedy, eventual (light?) wangxian smut

The Sunshot Campaign has just been won. Everyone goes over to Jin Guangshan’s house after the Nightless City banquet, to Negotiate Stuff, and some hasty political marriages happen resulting in Xuanli Wedded Bliss and Wangxian Un-confessed Wedded Tension. Then, suddenly...a curse befalls our brave heroes.

Wei Wuxian wakes suddenly, feeling odd. He’s sleeping on his stomach for one thing, which is not his usual, but he feels warm and comfortable enough that he doesn’t think it strange. But then there is the scent of peonies and gardenias, which is both familiar and alien, somehow. It makes him open his eyes.

Which is when he sees the hand before him on the bolster. It is slender and elegant. Small. Pale. Familiar? Wearing a jade bangle. He pushes himself up a bit, startled, only to see the hand move when he does.

The hand. Is his hand. He stares at it. The shock of it, coupled with the early hour, leave his mind working very slowly.

At length, he becomes aware of an odd weight across his back, which then shifts. Wei Wuxian turns.

He is met with the sleepy, moon-eyed stare of one Jin Zixuan, still cradling him in his arms.

“What the fuck,” says Wei Wuxian. His voice is. Soft. And high.

He would think this was all some messed-up dream if not for the fact that his dreams of late have all been messed up in an entirely different way. He’s also certain, in an odd, detached way, that he never would have imagined the battle scars that mar Jin Zixuan’s distressingly visible skin.

Jin Zixuan’s brow furrows, and he blinks. “A-Li?”

“...What the fuck.”

~~~

When Lan Wangji wakes at his customary hour, he is just slightly more tired than usual. The coverlet over him is oddly heavy, but he does not give it any thought until light from the rising sun slips over an unfamiliar sill and into his eyes. His entire body goes tense as he remembers.

Jinlintai. The long hours of debate, of negotiation. The hasty marriages.

He sits up in his strange bed and turns. There, in the bed opposite, is Wei Ying’s sleeping form. Close, yet still distant. Safe, at least.

Lan Wangji relaxes, and takes a breath. It was a near thing, keeping the sects from demanding more and more from Wei Ying, from treating him like a criminal instead of the hero he is. But somehow, Jiang Wanyin and Xiongzhang ended up on the same page, defending him, working tirelessly toward a compromise with the more critical parties. And now Lan Wangji has the dubious honor of ‘keeping Wei Ying in check,’ as Yao-zongzhu so inelegantly put it, through marriage.

A strictly political marriage. A convenient solution. To bind them together, to keep Wei Ying tied under the umbrella of Lan Wangji’s rigid honor.

It is unclear, as of yet, if Wei Ying resents this arrangement. He has not been himself since Nightless City, and the destruction of Wen Ruohan’s forces. First his long coma, then a lingering tiredness that he has not seemed able to shake, which dampens his normally-vivid expressions of feeling.

Lan Wangji is worried. But this, at least, Wei Ying has made clear is unwelcome. He seems to want to pretend that nothing has changed. Not about himself, and not between the two of them. Lan Wangji has done his best to honor his wishes, despite everything.

Now, he rises and dresses before sinking into his morning meditation. It is still strange to do so fully dressed, weighed down by the propriety required for the public, but it has felt necessary, now that Wei Ying shares chambers with him. A physical manifestation of the barrier between them, more important than ever now that they are, bizarrely, married.

Before his meditation is finished, he hears Wei Ying stir. It is unusual for him to wake so early. Lan Wangji’s eyes snap open, immediately searching him for signs of pain.

Wei Wuxian turns over, then goes very still. He sits bolt upright, searching the bed with wild eyes, then turns them on the room at large. When they land on Lan Wangji, he curls in on himself, the fingers of one hand tightening at the collars of his sleeping robe, clutching it closed.

“La—Lan-er-gongzi?”

His voice is oddly breathy, and his eyes...they are wide with confusion, with just the slightest tinge of fear. Lan Wangji is struck nearly senseless by the term of address, aberrant in Wei Ying’s mouth.

“What is wrong?”

Searching the room again, Wei Wuxian moves toward the edge of the bed with a strangely graceful modesty. It looks alien on his long limbs. “My...my husband. Where…?”

The word jolts through Lan Wangji’s entire body. He has never heard Wei Ying say it before. He has...wanted to hear it. Dearly, he realizes suddenly. But it sounds wrong. Distressed. Everything Wei Ying says sounds wrong.

“Wei Ying,” he says.

Wei Ying’s eyes snap to his. “A-Xian? Where is he? Is he with A-Xuan? Are they alright?”

Lan Wangji blinks at him, uncomprehending, for several seconds. Then he begins to understand.

“You are not—”

The doors to their chambers burst open, and Jiang Yanli rushes in. The tasteful purple and gold robes she has adopted in the few days since the weddings are loose, uncharacteristically askew—not impreprietous, but verging on it. She spots Lan Wangji and her stormy expression clears.

“Lan Zhan,” she says, and her shoulders droop.

Lan Wangji blinks at her, thrown by her use of this name, then glances at Wei Ying, who has gone completely still, his mouth open in a small, shocked ‘o.’ Jiang Yanli follows his gaze and freezes.

Just then, Jin Zixuan comes barreling into the room, significantly more unkempt than his wife. He has not even tied back his hair.

“A-Li,” he implores, “what’s happened? We can’t just go barging into our guests’,” he pauses, and bows awkwardly, hastily, to Lan Wangji and Wei Ying in turn, “rooms like this. Please,” he takes her arm, but she shakes him off.

She’s still staring at Wei Ying. “Sh...Shijie?”

Wei Ying startles, and looks down at himself. He holds out his arms, his hands, and looks at those too. Then he looks up at Jiang Yanli. “A-Xian?”

“Shijie,” Jiang Yanli says, and slumps over to the bed, embracing Wei Ying.

“A-Li,” hisses Jin Zixuan, scandalized.

Lan Wangji glances at Jin Zixuan’s wife embracing his own husband on the bed, and rises. He walks briskly past them all to shut the door. Then he returns.

“Wei Ying,” he says again. Jiang Yanli looks up at him.

It is obvious, now that he has realized it. Her face, animated by his personality. The soft warmth of her eyes sharpened just so. The deliberately graceless way she threw herself—himself—into Wei Ying’s—no, Jiang Yanli’s—arms.

Lan Wangji takes a deep breath. “Is this a curse?”

“Yes,” Wei Ying says with Jiang Yanli’s face, but his own certainty.

“How can we break it?” Lan Wangji asks.

“I”m not sure, not yet. I need to try a few things—or—having the original curse would be safer.” He looks at his sister in his own body. “I...don’t really want to experiment with this.”

Jiang Yanli tsks and bumps his shoulder a little too forcefully, jostling Wei Ying in her currently slight form. “Vain,” she says, teasing.

“Shijieee,” he whines. It sounds bizarre in Jiang Yanli’s voice. “I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

“I know,” Jiang Yanli says, soothing.

“Do you feel alright?” Wei Ying goes on, urgent.

“Perfectly alright, now that you’re both here,” she says, smiling at the newcomers in turn.

Something sharply acidic surges in Lan Wangji’s stomach at such a look on Wei Ying’s face, directed at...Jin Zixuan.

“Really, though,” Wei Ying presses, “any nausea? Dizziness? Pain? You’re not worried?”

“Not at all. Our A-Xian will figure it out.”

Lan Wangji watches as the appearance of Wei Ying’s knuckle affectionately brushes Jiang Yanli’s nose.

Strange. It is all...so strange.

“If—”

“What is happening?” Jin Zixuan interrupts.

All three of them look at him. He stares between them, wild-eyed and desperately askew. Lan Wangji has never considered him to be particularly slow on the uptake, but he supposes allowances must be made for the stress of waking up with a stranger in one’s bed.

He does not care to investigate the perverse pang of jealousy he feels at the thought.

“A-Xuan, it’s me,” Jiang Yanli says. Jin Zixuan stares at her in Wei Ying’s body, uncomprehending. She goes on slowly, but not unkindly. “A-Xian and I have been cursed into each other’s bodies. He’s in there, and I’m in here.”

Her husband blinks several times, very quickly. Lan Wangji recognizes the moment it sinks in by the deep flush that rises across his entire face, and is certain he does not wish to know what precisely inspired it.

Jin Zixuan takes an involuntary half-step back, then forward again, as he speaks with renewed urgency. “Why has this happened? Can it be undone?”

“Great questions,” Wei Ying says, falsely encouraging. Lan Wangji exchanges a glance with him, and it almost feels natural, to share such a thing with either Wei Ying or Jiang Yanli. “Someone was clearly either targeting me—that’s Wei Wuxian, that’s me, in here—or you...whom you know to be Jin Zixuan. I hope.”

Jin Zixuan turns a deeper shade of red. “Obviously,” he bites out. “But why?”

Wei Ying rolls his eyes dramatically. It is not something Lan Wangji ever imagined Jiang Yanli doing.

“We don’t know yet, but we will once we find and question the person responsible,” Wei Ying says. Jiang Yanli grips his arm suddenly. Wei Ying looks at her. “And yes, it can be undone. Of course it can. I’ll figure it out.”

“Cast a rebound,” Lan Wangji says, brisk. The more quickly they are done with this, the better.

Wei Ying’s face falls. “Ah,” he says, “well, we…”

“My cultivation is too weak for him to reliably use,” Jiang Yanli says suddenly. “And I’m not very good at the method, I’m afraid.”

Lan Wangji nods. Steps forward. Then hesitates. “If the curse was cast in such a way, one of you may end up in the caster’s body. And they in yours.”

They all look at Jiang Yanli. Her expression grows grim. “Alright,” she says, then looks to Lan Wangji. There is something steely in her expression that is familiar on Wei Ying’s face. “Thank you for the warning. Go ahead.”

Lan Wangji hesitates only a moment longer, expecting protests from the other two. But Wei Ying is wearing a small, knowing smile, and Jin Zixuan merely nods at her, reassuring. Lan Wangji senses his esteem for the Jin heir rising at such solid trust in his wife.

He steps forward and casts the rebound. They all hold their breath.

Wei Ying glances around, his wry expression entirely foreign on Jiang Yanli’s face. “Anything?”

“No,” says Jiang Yanli.

Wei Ying sighs. “More work for us, then.”

“A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli says, taking gentle hold of his wrist. “You know what this means.”

“Ah?”

“You’ll have to be me.”

“Ah. No, I—”

“A-Xian.”

Wei Ying scratches his head, a not-at-all ladylike gesture. “Or we could just stay in here and let these two investigate?”

The smile Jiang Yanli turns on him is tender, and knowing, and indulgent. “I’d like to see you try to sit still when there’s a puzzle to solve.”

He sighs. “Alright. But you have to be me, too.”

She nods, and theatrically slouches into a sprawling, sloppy posture. Wei Ying laughs, his head thrown back, a hand on his stomach. Jin Zixuan turns around, looking almost ill.

Lan Wangji understands, and he doesn’t. It is dizzying, and distinctly wrong-looking, to see both of them this way. Yet there is also something endearing about it. About the parts of them that do overlap, and fit into each other better than one would expect.

“A-Xuan,” Jiang Yanli calls softly, noticing her husband’s distress.

Lan Wangji gets the distinct impression that that tone in Wei Ying’s voice is not helping the situation.

“Jin-gongzi,” he says. “It would be best for all of us to go about our days as normal, and not to arouse suspicion. Wei Ying sleeps late, and will not be missed for the morning. Jin-shao-furen may claim mild illness until the afternoon. But you and I must behave as normal. There are still the other sects to host.”

“Yes,” Jin Zixuan says absently. He runs a hand over his face. “Yes. You’re right. A-Li—” he turns and looks at the pair of them on the bed, and pauses. He shakes his head as if to clear it. “I’ll go back and dress. Join me when—or—Wei—” he stops. “I will be attending my duties. Please let me know what else I can do.”

“Remember to act natural,” Jiang Yanli says. “When A-Xian joins you later, try to look less like a roasted tomato, hmm?”

Jin Zixuan’s mouth twists into a wry smile, and he nods at the floor, then flees the room. Jiang Yanli and Wei Ying turn their eyes to Lan Wangji.

“I shall also depart,” he says. He circles his arms to bow to Jiang Yanli, but Wei Ying stands and pulls him over toward the door. Lan Wangji lets him, and tries not to pull away from the improprietous touch from a married lady.

“Lan Zhan,” he says, hushed and urgent. “I’m not...you don’t think I’m hurting her, am I? Just by being in here? Can you sense any resentment?”

Lan Wangji feels something tighten in his chest. Wei Ying has not let Lan Wangji so much as examine his pulse since he roused from his coma, but the idea that he is so constantly steeped in resentment as to cause worry that his very soul may be harmful...is distressing. He takes hold of his slender wrist carefully. It is still Jiang Yanli’s body, and he will treat it with the respect it is owed.

“I cannot,” he says. The only energy in Jiang Yanli’s body is generated by her own small but steady golden core. “I sense nothing that may be harmful.”

Wei Ying lets out a relieved breath. “Alright. But, um. What about the other way? Is her...is my body harming her?”

Lan Wangji turns to go back and perform the same examination, but Wei Ying stops him. “No, that’s alright. I’ll. We’ll just get this over with, and we can. Between the two of us, we can fix whatever...whatever damage I do.”

Lan Wangji stares at him, but Wei Ying refuses to meet his eyes. At length, he nods. “We can.”

“Alright. Ah, thanks. You should go.”

Lan Wangji goes.

#my fic #prompt fic #the untamed fanfic #lan wangji #wei wuxian #jiang yanli #jin zixuan #i don't know why i bother this is NOT gonna show up in tags #i'm not gonna go through and censor things. i'm just. not gonna #also this post is...so ugly #will anyone even read it??? who knows elksfdjns #let's have some fun

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mypoisonedvine · 3 years

Text

peaches & cream || soft!dark Jake Wyler x reader

for @stargazingfangirl18's 5k challenge! I used the prompt, "the town golden boy isn’t as sweet as everyone thinks."

word count: 3.6k

warnings: smut (noncon), stalking/obsession, some degradation/negging (but lots of praise during the actual smut), kinda yandere vibes?, touch of breeding kink at the end, definitely flirting with the boundary between soft!dark and regular dark but I like to think it’s a fine line

“Sorry, but that’s a seasonal flavor,” the girl at the counter explained in a snarky monotone.

“Well, yeah, but isn’t it still… the season?” you pressed; normally you weren’t the sort of person to argue with a cashier over a milkshake, but the look she was giving you made you feel like she was holding out on you— especially when the promotional poster for the very thing you were trying to order was just behind her head, and said the flavor was available for two more days.

“We’re out,” she answered firmly, but then her face suddenly shifted to a much more pleasant expression as you heard the chime of the front door opening behind you.

You felt his body hovering behind yours just as his hand laid on the counter beside you, caging you in. It was even more unsettling with the context that there was a whole line of people waiting behind you already.

“I’ll get your usual,” the girl promised to the man beside with a flirtatious smile as she disappeared to the back, returning almost instantly with a shake in her extended hand. “Peaches and cream milkshake— extra whipped cream, no cherry. Enjoy!”

Your eyes widened at the reading of your own order. “I thought you were out!” you protested, going completely ignored.

"If you were my girl, this sort of thing wouldn't need to happen."

You recoiled from Jake's voice in your ear, and he smiled in spite of your snarl, bringing the straw to his lips slowly. With a shudder you walked away, deciding it was probably better to forgo a milkshake anyways— especially if it was a chance to avoid everyone’s favorite senior, the football king who basically owned the whole town for no other reason than being good-looking, athletic, and allegedly “charming” or whatever.

Of course, he followed you, sitting across from you in a booth and silently shooing his posse of fellow teammates to go off and give you two some space. If only he would give you space.

“We can share,” he offered as he held the milkshake out towards you. “I know it’s your favorite… it’s mine too.”

“I’ve lost my appetite,” you explained quickly as you pulled a book out of your backpack, intent on ignoring him since you couldn’t physically force him to leave.

He shrugged and returned to sucking on the straw, watching you unwaveringly as you tried to read your book— staring at the page was going well, but you couldn’t seem to actually get any words down. Had you forgotten English as a written language or something?

“Could you leave?” you finally asked as you groaned and looked up from your book. “You’re distracting me.”

“I’m literally just sitting here,” he reminded you.

“And it’s distracting!”

He smirked proudly. “My presence tends to have that effect on people. Nothing to be embarrassed about.”

You rolled your eyes, burying your face back in your book. “You know, you may have everybody else fooled, but someday you’re gonna have to leave this pathetic little town and go into the real world where throwing a ball isn’t a career and nobody fawns over you just because you have the audacity to be attractive.”

He chuckled lightly. “Right, because you have those big city dreams of yours, but believe it or not some of us like this ‘pathetic’ little town.”

“Well, of course you would,” you snorted. “Your dad’s the mayor and your girlfriend’s the head cheerleader.”

“My ex-girlfriend,” he corrected, finally getting your attention enough to make you shut your book.

“What?” you blurted out.

“Yeah, she dumped me,” he explained plainly.

“Why would she do that?” you asked, making him look much too proud of himself again. “Finally snapped out of the brainwashing, huh?” you added, effectively killing his smug expression.

“I guess you could say that. She met some college guy from out of town… I think her parents liked me too much, she needed a bit more rebellion.”

“Well, my condolences to you,” you smiled, “and my congratulations to her.”

“I thought you hated her,” he scoffed.

“Well, now she and I have something in common: a complete lack of interest in you!”

“I mean, I wouldn’t go that far,” he smirked, “she still comes over every now and again to suck my cock.”

You choked on nothing, face getting warm at his crude language. He didn’t talk like that with anyone else; it was so cruel the way he kept everybody in town under his spell except you, the way he let you in on his real darkness with no one else to confide in or believe you.

It was so fundamentally lonely, being the one person who wasn’t in love with Jake Wyler. It was even worse being the one person Jake Wyler loved.

At least, that was the word he used multiple times in his semi-anonymous letters, his incessant calls and emails, his speeches outside your window. He’d actually cooled off lately, you wondered if maybe he had finally let go of this ‘the one thing I can’t have’ obsession and learned to appreciate his girlfriend (who, for all her personality flaws, was objectively gorgeous, and seemed to at least be nice to him if nobody else).

But now that she left him (which you were still trying to process, honestly), you were surprised he hadn’t already moved on to the next best wannabe model and/or reinstated his campaign to win you over.

Then again, the look in his eye kind of made you think you were about to witness the second one.

“You know, when she does come over, I can only ever finish because I’m thinking about you,” he revealed in a low voice. You grimaced and slid out of the booth, stuffing your book into your bag and barely managing to throw him a goodbye before you dashed out.

It wasn’t like you really thought you could get away from him— he had made it clear over and over that you couldn’t— but the idea of being crammed in that booth with him, surrounded throughout the diner by his adoring fans who somehow didn’t manage to overhear him when he said those awful things, made you feel nauseous.

What you should’ve considered was that, fans or not, those people were witnesses, and now that you were running out into the dark streets of the town and he was chasing after you, you didn’t have any. It was just you and him, and when you turned into an alleyway to try to get home faster, even the dim glow of the streetlights couldn’t see you anymore.

“Hey,” he stopped you with a tight grip on your arm, pulling you back into him.

“Let me go!” you whined, trying to tug yourself away but only ensuring that his hand would leave a bruise on your arm.

“I will when you just hear me out, okay?” he hissed, spinning you around to look up at him. "Why don't you just give me a chance? Don't you wanna be popular?"

"I don't want to be anything that requires being within ten yards of you!" you spat.

He seemed bewildered, but you knew he wasn’t actually that stupid. "Why?"

"Because you know why!"

He sighed, slumping his shoulders a little. "Are we still on that, really? I told you, you should take it as a compliment. You know how many girls would kill to catch me jerking off in their panties?"

"You're sick, Jake,” you sighed, “and you're really good at hiding it from everyone else but I know what you really are. You told me you needed help with algebra and I actually believed you, for months you were lying to me to get close so you could perv on me when you already had a girlfriend and two side chicks anyways— god, Jake, you're crazy!"

You yelped when he pinned you to the wall, blue eyes darker than ever. "I really, really hate that word."

Against the wall, your back straightened as you felt the tone shift completely for a moment before he was back to his jovial self again, giving you a somber but almost-genuine smile.

“The only kind of crazy I am is crazy about you,” he defended with a laugh, leaning in a little closer. “Why can’t you see that?”

As his eyes moved from your own to your lips, a renewed sense of fear shot through you. “Jake…” you mumbled, apparently your feeble attempt to ask him to stop.

“Just one kiss,” he bargained, “and then I’ll let you go. Okay? That’s all I need.”

“N-no,” you whimpered, turning your head away as he leaned in even further. “Stop.”

“Come on, it’s just a kiss, baby,” he cooed. “Then you can leave. Hey, you might actually like it. You know, I think that’s what you’re really scared about… and I get it! When I first realized I was in love with you, it was scary for me, too— I mean, I’m the most important guy in town and you’re just some bookworm, it’s sort of social suicide for me so I had a lot to worry about.”

There he went with his negging again, trying to bring you down to his level. Your brain knew that, it saw right through it, but your gut still sank with doubt.

“But I know now that love is nothing to be afraid of,” he concluded.

“No, Jake,” you whispered, feeling tears well in your eyes, “I’m afraid that you’ll hurt me if I don’t do what you want.”

“Well, that is something to be afraid of,” he replied with the coldest laugh you’d ever heard; you didn’t hear any agreement, but the lack of denial was deafening. “So just be my good girl and let me kiss you…”

You swallowed dryly, your eyes wide open and searching for anywhere to look but up at him.

He was so close now that his lips brushed against yours with his command: “say it.”

You stammered over your breath, not sure exactly what he was asking for, and you winced as you felt his grip tighten on your arms.

“Say, ‘kiss me’,” he clarified in a harsh whisper. “Say, ‘please’...”

“Please,” you repeated awkwardly, hearing it in your voice but so clearly not your own words, “kiss me.”

He let his mouth intertwine with yours and your eyes were still wide open as he let his own fall shut, moving his hands to clutch your face gently instead as you gave a weak effort to kiss him back.

Objectively, he was good at this. A lot of things were objectively true about Jake: as much as you forced yourself not to see it, he was handsome; as much as it didn’t really matter to you, a boycotter of all things sports, he was talented; and, as much as no one else realized it, he was completely deranged. For every word of kindness from him there was another of anger. For every love letter in your locker, there was a threat left scrawled on crumpled paper inside your bedroom, just so he could remind you that your parents would let him into the house if he asked and never question it.

Which was why it was extremely important that you did not enjoy this kiss. You needed to hate the way his fingers traced over the pulse in your neck, the way his tongue tickled yours, the way his teeth just barely grazed your lip until your knees went a little weak.

But wow, there was something primally satisfying about melting into his arms, feeling his strength support you like it was nothing when he held your waist and pulled you closer.

You could almost forget that it was him. But then he mumbled your name into the kiss, nearly moaned it in fact, and it pulled you back to reality. With a gasp, you pushed him away and blinked your eyes open, not even realizing you’d closed them; hating how quickly you’d started to give in to him.

“There, one kiss,” you mumbled, wiping your mouth with the back of your sleeve. “I’m gonna go home now—”

“You can’t be serious,” he laughed incredulously. “You’re gonna kiss me like that and tell me you don’t feel this, too? We’re so meant for each other— we even order the same milkshake!”

“That doesn’t matter!” you denied.

“I love you!”

“That doesn’t matter either!”

You turned to leave but he grabbed you again from behind, covering your mouth with his hand when you opened your mouth to scream. “Don’t fucking talk to me like that,” he hissed in your ear, “and don’t walk away from me.”

Fighting against his grip did nothing but exhaust you: he only needed one arm to hold you back as he dragged you deeper into the alley. Your legs swung wildly and landed a kick to his shin, and he plugged your nose while he was covering your mouth so you couldn’t breathe.

“Listen to me, you stuck up little bitch,” he growled. “I’m really sick of this ‘hard to get’ act. I know you want me. So shut up and let me show you what you’ve been missing out on, okay? You gonna be good?”

In that moment, you would’ve agreed to anything for a chance to fill your lungs with fresh air, and so you nodded, the back of your head rubbing against his chest.

“You gonna be nice and quiet so nobody catches you getting fucked like a whore in this alley?”

Another nod, more feverish than the last, ended with a sharp inhale as he let go of your nose. But he was still covering your mouth, his arm around you now feeling less like restraint and more like an embrace.

"I've wanted you for so long, you can't even imagine," he explained softly as he leaned down and kissed your neck, gripping your waist tighter. "You and this perfect body of yours. This smart little head that thinks too much…"

You swallowed dryly as his hand trailed lower.

"This pussy you've been hiding from me for much too long," he added darkly, roughly shoving his hand up your skirt.

You whined behind his hand but he didn’t seem to care; he pulled your skirt up and grinned at the sight of your panties— because he recognized them.

“I remember these,” he purred. “They look good on you, baby, but they looked better covered in my come.”

Your cheeks burned with shame— you already hated yourself for still wearing the pair he’d tampered with, but it was harmless after a few runs through the washer, right? You weren’t going to stop wearing your favorite panties just for him, that would mean he won, in a sense; or, that’s what you told yourself to justify not burning them.

“Don’t worry, they’re gonna be soaked by the time I’m done with you,” he purred, slipping two fingers between your legs and growling slightly. “Well, actually, you’ve already done a lot of the work for me.”

He pulled the fabric aside and explored your pussy instead, tightening his grip over your mouth as you made little muffled yelps. The rough pads of his fingers found and targeted your clit instantly, that megawatt smile pressed against your ear as he started to rub your bud harder.

“Mm, feels good, huh?” he taunted, moving even faster as your hips jolted unintentionally. He stopped only to bring the fingers to his lips, humming at the taste of you which he sucked off of them. “So sweet, babygirl— better than any peaches and cream milkshake, that’s for sure.”

The wet fingers trailed down your body again, finding your entrance that he suddenly pushed into; it was a little too much without any warning and it made your eyes shoot wide open, a squeak barely escaping your throat.

"Just as tight as I imagined, baby,” he sighed, “all those times I used your panties, or hooked up with somebody who almost looked like you from behind. You’re gonna feel so good on my cock, I know you want it so bad.”

He took his fingers out of you to reach back and open his belt with one hand, the sound of the buckle matched in upsettingness only by the sound of his jeans sliding down to his thighs.

You heard your own breath loud and heavy against his hand as you felt his hard cock press against your thigh, a drop of precum smearing on your skin. Your breathing halted suddenly, though, when he slid himself between your legs to rub his cock over your exposed and swollen pussy.

“Oh, babygirl, you really are too good to me,” he grinned, kissing your ear tenderly. “So fucking wet and ready for me, huh? You need it that bad? You’re gonna get it, baby, ‘m gonna give it to you so good…”

Bracing yourself as best you could, you felt the head of his cock push against your entrance before he slammed in all at once, making you hiss in pain.

“Oh god,” he groaned, “fuck, you’re so warm…”

Already he was fucking into you roughly, pumping faster and deeper, paying no mind to your choked sobs of pain from the wide stretch. Even when it stung it felt oddly good, and the underside of his cock seemed to slide perfectly over your g-spot with each movement until your eyes began to roll back in your head.

“So fucking good,” he moaned hoarsely as he braced you against the brick wall for leverage, reaching back down with his free hand to rub your clit again. He chuckled when your legs quivered, and he must have felt your walls tighten around him, too. “I wanna hear those pretty moans, baby, if I take my hand away are you gonna be good?” he asked darkly. You nodded, enjoying the brief feeling of freedom that came from not having his hand over your mouth anymore. But then again, it was humiliating that now he could hear your panting breaths, your desperate mewls that you failed to swallow down.

He made a sound that was almost like a laugh as he watched you squirm in his arms, one more way he had to lord this all over you, as if forcing you to take him in an alley wasn’t enough on its own.

His breath against your ear was hot and strained, each meeting of your hips to his accentuated with a little grunt from him. It didn’t help at all that his fingers were rubbing you just right, with so much skill that you wondered if he’d somehow figured out how you touched yourself when you needed to get off. Honestly, you wouldn’t put it past him to have spied on you before, even if you couldn’t figure out when or how.

The hand that used to cover your mouth slid up under your shirt and pulled your bra down, a large, rough hand groping each breast and pinching your nipples until you bit down on your lip to stay quiet. For all the mocking and teasing he’d done before, he was pretty direct now— like he was trying to make you come as fast as possible, overloading your body with sensation.

And did he have to be so fucking good at it?

“I know you’re close, babygirl,” he whispered in your ear, “just let go…”

“Jake, please,” you sobbed, too far gone to appreciate that no begging would make him stop now.

“Come for me,” he demanded roughly, fucking you even faster as he sucked a mark onto your neck, and finally it all came crashing down with a choked-out cry of his name and a gush of warmth dripping out around his length.

“Ohh fuck, there you go, fuck it feels good when you come for me,” he grunted, thrusting even faster. “You’re gonna milk my cock with that pretty pussy, babygirl— you’re gonna make me come…”

“J-Jake, not inside!” you interjected, getting his hand back over your mouth in return.

“Shh, it’s okay,” he soothed, “waited too long for this to pull out now. Feels too fucking good.”

Behind his hand, the difference between whines of hatred and moans of pleasure was irritatingly subtle.

“I love you,” he reminded you in a voice exhausted yet heavy with desire, “so fucking much…”

A few more erratic, brutal thrusts accompanied by heavy pants and he was gone; you could feel his cock pulsing with each rope of come that filled you, so deep that your head fell dejectedly with the realization you had no hope of washing it out now.

His hand fell from your mouth but he didn’t pull out for another few moments as he caught his breath, gently peppering your neck and cheek in slow kisses. “Baby,” he finally sighed, breaking the crushing silence, “you’re so fucking perfect. I knew you were made for me.”

I hate you, you wanted to cry out, but words escaped you as he hugged you tightly and pulled your panties back into place, soaking them with his come as it leaked out of you just like he’d promised. He stuffed his cock back into his jeans and helped you adjust your clothes back to looking almost presentable, finishing it off by turning you around and smiling at you with serene pride before kissing your forehead.

"You're gonna make such a beautiful prom queen," he cooed, “especially if you’ve already got a nice little bump showing…”

His hand rubbed beneath your belly button for emphasis, making you whimper and force your eyes shut as tears rolled down your cheeks.

"Shh, don’t cry, baby,” he soothed, kissing your cheek softly. “Trust me, you're gonna love being my girl."

#siris5ksoftdarkchallenge #dark!jake wyler x reader #idek how to tag this nobody's looking for jake wyler fics lmao

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anjuschiffer · 3 years

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Happy Valentine’s Day @m3owww! Hope you enjoy it Phi!

Thanks to @eat0crow for organizing this exchange and Panda for helping me with the title!

Yes, I know I went overboard...

AO3

Marinette remembered the first time she got something from her soulmate.

It was a battery, or so she found out when she showed it to her parents.

“Maman, what’s this?” She asked her mother as she showed her the black box-like battery.

“Where did you get this?” Sabine asked, taking it and examining, wondering where her 10 year old daughter got it. After all, she didn’t recall them buying it.

“I didn’t get it from anywhere. It just...appeared on my desk.” Marinette explained, watching as Sabine showed the box to her father.

“This looks like a camera battery.” Tom gave the battery back to Marinette, then looked at Sabine, watching as she connected the dots. “Seems like your soulmate might be into photography.”

“Soulmate?” Marinette asked, staring at the battery.

Soulmates. Only five percent of the world’s population had one or rather, the ability to find theirs. They came in various forms and at different ages, so it was always hard to know if you had a soulmate link, bond or mark.

As for the Dupain-Chengs, it seems like Tom and Sabine belonged to that five percent. Sabine and Tom found out they had soulmates when they met at a flea market in Paris. The two had noticed that the timer ticking on their wrist was edging closer to 0, causing them to panic. For the two believed that it was a timer that marked the death of their soulmate.

As the two dashed to find a place to possibly cry at, the two crashed into each other, Tom catching Sabine by her wrist to prevent her from falling. As the two apologized, it was then that they found out that they were soulmates and that the timer was counting down to when they were going to meet. Upon realizing this, they both began to laugh.

Marinette asked them why her soulmate link wasn’t like theirs, Sabine explaining that each soulmate pair had a different bond. As for Marinette, it seemed to be a lost and found link.

If either of them lost anything, say a pencil, then the other will find it.

Sabine noticed that Marinette seemed skeptical of it.

“Try throwing out the battery out the window.”

“What? No!”

“Trust me.” And so Marinette did, after preparing herself for 10 minutes. When she went outside to look for it, it was gone.

Seeing as it was true, Marinette began to purposely lose items frequently, hoping that her soulmate would get the message that she knew about him. That she was eager to meet him. But despite her hard efforts, her items never went over to her soulmate, the items landing or staying in the spot Marinette had thrown at.

Because of this, whenever Marinette would try and show her friends her bond, they half-believed her. Only one straight up thought she made up the story to get attention: Chloe.

But then again, Chloe didn’t like anyone, so Marinette kept telling her friends of her various attempts, eagerly telling them how she couldn’t wait to meet them.

Soulmates…as much as Tim wanted to ask his parents about it, he chose not to.

Tim looked at the tiny medallion in his hand, his fingers running over the three letters engraved on it, quickly putting it away when he heard his mother’s footsteps, quickly burying himself into his homework, pretending to flip between pages when he heard the doorknob of his room turn.

Janet walked in, Tim pretending to figure out a calculation out, quickly scribbling some nonsense onto his paper.

“I see that you’re working hard.”

“Mr.Sommers said that the next exam will cover factorization, so I thought I would do a few for practice.” Tim easily lied, adding a final number before looking up to acknowledge his mother.

She had that look again. “How long would you be out for this trip?” Janet jumped a bit. “You talked about it with Mrs.Romanov just yesterday, when you found her at the bookstore to buy some books for the flight. When we were at the storefront, remember?”

Another lie. Yes, his mother had gone to the bookstore with Tim, but the thing was that Janet had sent Tim off while she told Mrs.Romanov about her next exertion. How she told Mrs.Romanov if she knew of any nannies to take care of Tim while she was going to be out for the next two months.

Despite knowing Tim was capable of maintaining himself, she didn’t want the school to bother her again for not leaving him behind with adult supervision. It was starting to get on her nerves.

“Oh that’s right. How did I forget?” His mother recalled, not once doubting his retelling. “We’re excavating in Riqqeh, Egypt for a month.” Tim watched as his mother let out a sigh. “Probably more cemeteries, but then again, you never know until you dig.”

“I see.” Tim said, burying himself back into his homework. “Hope you find something more interesting than skeletons then.”

“I promise to bring back a souvenir, okay?” His mother walked to him, placing a cold kiss on his forehead, Tim noticing his father’s name etched on her collar bone. “Make sure to go straight to sleep after you finish that page, understood?” A nod. “Good night, Timothy.”

“Good night.” He simply said back, watching as she closed the door.

Taking out the medallion, Tim stared at it.

He had a soulmate somewhere out there...a soulmate he dreaded to meet...and yet hoped that perhaps they wouldn’t end up like his parents…

Tim opened a secret compartment in his pencil case and placed the medallion there, thinking about it until he went to sleep.

—

Soulmates. Everyone is always eager to meet them, but no one ever tells you how to keep that same enthusiasm after you meet them…

Tim’s parents met when Janet had tagged along with one of her friend’s excavation trips, meeting Jack in Berlin.

The minute the two saw each other, their world turned more colorful, the two becoming infatuated with one other when they found out they were soulmates. After showing each other’s names etched onto their collarbones, the two quickly planned their marriage.

Marrying in Gotham was a dream come true for Janet...but that dream lasted a mere months before the world went back to being its bland self. With each having their own dreams, careers and goals, Janet and Jack started to stray from each other. Meetings and trips took time away from one another. And the time they would see each other, they would simply talk about work, work and nothing else. Not even a single ‘want to take a break?’ or ‘how about we go out for dinner tonight?’

It was like being at another board meeting, being professional with each other.

They only drew close to one another when Janet found out she was pregnant with Timothy, Jack taking some time off work to make sure Janet had various maids checking on her before returning back to work.

On the day Timothy was to be born, Jack was there, holding Janet’s handing during the delivery. He held his son once before handing him over to Janet and leaving, mentioning about having to go back to work.

Jack would then go on to see Timothy at home, being lulled to sleep by the handmaid, telling Jack of Janet’s meeting with the board about an upcoming visit to Mexico.

There were few times Tim actually remembered going out as a family and while from the outside it looked like any other family outing, Tim knew why they were out in the first place: rumors.

“Have you heard? Drake’s little boy was seen walking home by himself! What parent lets their child go home by themselves? ”

“Timothy? But he’s only six!”

“Heard they plan on sending him to a boarding school. Poor thing.”

While the family outings were influenced by rumors, Tim found joy in them because it was the few times he was able to go to places he had desired to go before. Like the circus....even if that one ended in a tragedy.

But even good things had to come to an end. Years went by and Timothy grew to be very independent. That was when all the maids and servants were shooed off, leaving Tim all alone.

It didn’t help that they did indeed end up sending him to boarding school.

But Tim managed to get used to being alone, and has been for the past two years.

Years passed and Marinette no longer kept trying to lose her items. Despite her various attempts, she couldn’t manage to send them over to her soulmate, finding it disheartening it.

But as of these days, Marinette didn’t have the time to try it again. Or rather, she could no longer afford to lose her belongings or let them out of her sight.

While she had gotten used to getting her things taken away from her thanks to her friends borrowing them or Chloe playing a “prank” on her, getting bullied by two people at the same time was starting to take a toll on her and the brand she was trying to set for herself at the age of 15.

If she dared to let her eyes wander, then they would either fall into the hands of Chloe or of Lila’s. When Lila transferred to Dupont, Marinette didn’t honestly care about her lying, after all, they were nothing but white lies. So she never bothered to actually make friends with the girl. But even with the lack of communication, Marinette apparently did something to Lila because one day she was cornered in the bathroom and was threatened.

Marinette was kind but she knew when enough was enough.

“I would like to see you try.” She practically spat into Lila’s face before leaving the bathroom those weeks ago.

So here she was, being bullied by both her bully since l'école primaire and her new found one in lycee.

But between the two, Marinette preferred her personal things end up in Chloe’s hands than Lila’s. Chloe at least gave them back, but Lila? They never returned in one piece or even worse, they didn’t come back at all.

“Marinette? Where is your-”

“Mme Bustier...I promise you I did do it. I had it.” Marinette stabilized her voice from erupting into panic as she failed to find her assignment that she swore she had in her bag. “You can even ask Alya. She saw it.”

“That’s true Mme Bustier!” Alya quickly defended, although she wondered what happened to the paper as she saw Marinette safely tuck it away. Yes, Marinette could be clumsy, but unorganized and scattered brain? That she was not. She was meticulous, precise and always punctual. So how did that paper leave its place?

“Regardless, it’s not in my hands.” Mme Bustier sighed. “You’ll have to stay after class.” That caused Marinette to panic. She couldn’t afford to stay after school. She had a meeting with a client as soon as school ended.

“But Mme Bustier!”

“I’m sorry Marinette, but-”

“I can’t afford to stay after class! I have a very important-”

“Marinette.” Mme Bustier sternly stated. “Rules are rules. You’ll have to come after school, whether you have a very important appointment or not.”

Marinette managed to not scream as the bell rang, watching as everyone filed out, Alya lingering behind.

“Marinette, I could-” she shook her head.

“Alya, I’ll be alright.” She gave her friend a sheepish smile. “And go on without me. Perhaps my client will understand when I explain it to them via text.” Despite Marinette’s reassurance, Alya nodded and left the classroom hesitantly.

Bracing herself for her punishment, Mme Bustier got a phone call from the main office, looking at Marinette and turning her attention back to the phone. With a few ‘oui’ and ‘be right there,’ Bustier turned to Marinette.

“They need me for a few minutes downstairs, but that doesn’t mean you are free to go. Stay here while I check what they need from me.” Mme Bustier ordered, Marinette burying her face into her hands as she slammed herself into her desk.

She lifted her head once again, sending a quick text to her client about running late. Once that was over, Marinette took out her sketchbook to look over her designs, taking out a red pen to add some additional revisions.

She didn’t know how long she had been like that, but the moment she heard the door open, her head snapped upwards, a frown on her face when she saw Lila and not Mme Bustier.

“What do you want?”

“Nothing much.” Lila said, dragging her fingers on the desk Marinette sat at. “Just this!” She exclaimed, snatching the sketchbook from under Marinette’s hand.

“Give it back!” Marinette screamed, quickly chasing after Lila around the class.

“Oh come one Marinette! I just want to-”

“They’re very important commision designs for a client-” Marinette attempted to reason, almost grabbing it back from Lila.

“Is that so?” Lila hummed, quickly opening the sketchbook and looking at the designs. “Wow. You weren’t kidding!” A grin made its way to her face. “It’d be too bad if something bad happened to it.”

Marinette’s eyes widened and the next thing she knew, she had managed to grab the sketchbook from Lila.

“There’s no way in hell I would let you.” Marinette said in a low voice.

“Oh? Then let’s see you try!” Lila yelled, attempting to grab the sketchbook from Marinette.

The two waltzed away from one another as Marinette kept her sketchbook away from Lila’s grasp. The two were on each other’s toes until Marinette had to run around the classroom, having to knock over Mme Bustier’s chair to keep Lila away from her when she got too close to comfort.

“Come on Marinette! I just want to see-”

“No way in hell Lila!” Marinette screamed, feeling as Lila dug her nails into her shoulder when she ended up cornering her by the windows, Marinette trying her best to not wince at the pain.

The two girls kept clawing at one another until Marinette couldn’t keep Lila at bay anymore, trying to find a way to keep her sketchbook safe from Lila. As Lila kept pushing her, Marinette’s hand hit the window, almost knocking down the metal rod that was used to pull down the shades. That’s when it hit her.

Taking in a deep breath, Marinette kicked Lila away from her, ingraining Lila’s expression of surprise into her memory. As Lila goy up and charged to grab the designer’s sketchbook, Marinette flung it behind her head, silently praying for its safety.

After all, everytime she had tried to lose an item, it never worked. But this time, just this one time, she hoped it would work.

Meanwhile, Lila watched as the sketchbook flew out the window, watching as it fell down to the ground, only to disappear before it hit the grass outside.

Lila stepped back, her eyes darting from the missing book to the panting Marinette who glared at her with daggers for eyes.

“Not this time Lila. Not this time.” The classroom door opened, causing both girls to look at the doorway.

“What is going on here?” Mme Mendeleiev practically shouted, causing Lila to lose all color in her face.

Crap.

—

Tim watched as his English teacher started to walk down the desk aisle, watching as he started to collect their writing assignment assigned yesterday. Seeing as he was drawing near, Tim reached into his bag, when he felt an unfamiliar texture brush against his knuckles. Peering into his bag, he noticed a leather book with a red strap securing it.

Deciding to check it out later, Tim took out his assignment and handed it in, watching as Mr.Hughes simply nodded as he took it, walking down the other row of desks to take the assignment.

As class progressed, his mind drifted to one thing: the book. Tim pondered at how the leather book had gotten into his bag and who it belonged to.

Was it from someone in his class? Was it part of a prank?

He was snapped from his thoughts once the bell rang, signaling everyone that it was lunch.

Tim scurried to the school’s library, heading up to the second floor and turning a right to where his favorite spot welcomed him. A lone desk at the corner, next to a radiator that warmed him in the winter and a wonderful view of the campus as well.

Ever since the death of his mother around a year ago, Tim was able to convince his father to pull him out of boarding school and to transfer him to Gotham Academy. He told him how it was less costly and better yet, closer to home. He agreed.

Making sure that he was comfortable, Tim took out the leather book, his fingers analyzing the bumpy leather texture. Perhaps he would find the owner’s name inside. If not, he will take it to the lost-n-found in the main office. Carefully, Tim took the red strap off the edge of the book, taken aback at the sketches on the paper.

Light feather markings under layers of darker, bolder strokes of graphite looked back at him in the shape of a dress. Side notes in French in a vibrant shade of black ink were meticulously jotted down, red ink being additional notes to the already long list of critiques.

As he turned the pages, Tim saw one dress design after another, designs for hats, caps, shirts and even leather jackets were in there too. Names of fabrics he had never heard of before racked in his mind as Tim kept admiring each sketch. He also couldn’t help but notice the signature on each page. MDC.

MDC.

As he reveled in the initials, trying to make sense of them, he let out a hiss as he retracted his hand from the book, noticing a small bead of blood emerged from his finger...blood?

Tim looked back at the book, noticing that there was a single needle poking out from the sketchbook’s satin bookmark, a silver medallion-

Medallion?

There was no way.

Tim closed in on the medallion and there it was, the initials, MDC. Just like the one he found written on the rose-gold medallion he found years ago.

But why now? Why now after five years of not losing a single thing?

Time had gone by so quickly that Tim literally jumped when the bell rang for the next class, Tim quickly scrambling to gently put back his soulmate’s things into his bag and head for geometry class.

Thanks to the fiasco with Lila, Marientte was held back even more, leading to Marinette having to reschedule her appointment with her client.

Thankfully, the client understood the situation Marinette was just in, even going as far as waiting for Marinette to set the new meeting date. Something about having been there before.

Wrapped in a lavender scented blanket, Marinette stared at her phone screen in front of her that blinked several times before turning black. Then it would turn on again.

On. On. On. On. Off. On…. Off. On... Off...On. On...

Marinette didn’t bother to flip it over either, knowing that the vibration of the incoming calls and unread text messages were going to remind her of the incident with Lila...and how she didn’t have access to her sketchbook anymore.

Her stomach grumbled in annoyance, Marinette only then remembering not having eaten in hours and its been a long time judging form the darken sky outside.

Deciding to actually eat something before she started to feel nauseous from not eating, Marinette was surprised to see a crumpled piece of paper next to the tray of food her mom had brought her. Where did the paper come from?

Opening it up, Marinette felt her heart stop.

I don’t know why, but I have your book…

Thank god she studied a bit of English! Marinette read the next lines.

The designs...are very nice. But guessing from the notes on the last page, you need it back. How exactly do I do that?

That stumped Marinette because to be honest, she didn’t know how. Every time she had tried to before, it never worked. Only this one time where she really needed for the link to work, it worked. But...they managed to easily lose their things…

Grabbing a piece of paper, Marinette wrote back, crumbling it and headed towards her skylight. Opening the hatch a bit, she threw it, going back to her food, hoping it got through.

Tim was minding his own business, listening to NIghtwing give the squad a run down of their latest problem when he eyed a crumpled up paper by his foot. Hoping no one would notice it, he quickly placed it under his foot and waited for the debriefing to finish.

Crouching to get it, it seems like he wasn’t as subtle as he had wished to be as Jaime got to it first.

“What you hiding from us, compa’?” Jaime asked Tim as he uncrumpled the paper. “¿Qué diablos es esto? What is this? Can you even read this?” Jaime pointed at the French written on the paper.

“Yes, I can.” Tim said, huffing when Bart leaned onto his shoulder, peering into the note in Tim’s hands.

“Why am I not surprised?” Jaime said. “Not only are you super smart, but now you’re bilingual too? Let me guess, you're actually multilingual?”

“Actually, he is.” Bart chimed in.

“No manches güey. Seriously?”

“If I remember correctly: Spanish, Cantonese, Russian-”

“And German.” Tim finished, quickly picking up his pace. “Now if you excuse me, I have a few things to do.”

“Hey! At least tell us what it says! Andale, no seas malo.” Jaime pleaded but simply got a wave goodbye for an answer. “Fine! But don’t forget about tomorrow’s mission, eh?”

As Tim left Jaime and Bart behind, he headed to the zeta tubes to head back home, thanking Alfred for the lift home, acknowledging his father as he made his way to his room.

He made a beeline for his bag, taking out the sketchbook, scared to even hold it now that he knew who it belonged to and how much it could potentially be worth.

He laid down the wrinkled paper on his desk, rereading the note.

Just lose it. Try to toss it out the window or something. That’s what I did. It’s how our link works after all.

Tim took a deep breath, both relieved that there was a possible way to return the book and nervous it wouldn’t work.

Taking the sketchbook, he opened up his bedroom window, looked down below and took a deep breath. He took a step back and with one swift move, he tossed the sketchbook out the window, wondering if it made its way safely back to its owner.

After what seemed like an hour, Tim found a crumpled piece of paper on his desk, quickly jogging towards it and opening, feeling a wash of relief flow out of him, Tim let himself smile as he looked at the paper.

It worked! Thank you so much! My name is Marinette...what’s yours?

Months flew by, Marinette now being in her senior year and grinning from ear to ear as she read Tim’s latest text to her, ignoring Alya’s nagging on packing for their trip.

Ever since the sketchbook incident, Marinette found out the reason as to why she was never able to “lose” anything to give to Tim. Or rather the two reasons why the link wasn’t working.

First off, Marinette had been intentionally losing items and always had her eyes on where it would land, which actually cancelled the link. Second, Tim’s fussing over the soulmate link caused it to weaken over time, which further didn't allow Marinette to send him anything over.

Through various days of aggressively sending each other notes, Tim decided to embrace the link while Marinette assured him that she would try to keep her enthusiasm to a low. Keyword: try.

Getting tired from the constant note throwing, Marinette suggested exchanging contact info. It’s how Marinette learned that Tim was very meticulous, and that was coming from his share of contact info. He had an email, phone number, fax number all carefully labeled with even hours in which Marinette was allowed to contact him.

At first Marinette thought he was a stick in the mud, but then Tim had to explain to her about time zones and how he was still in school and afterschool programs most of the week...oops. How did she forget about time zones and school of all things?

Using Marinette’s phone number and email, Tim was easily able to know where exactly Marinette lived, but that’s all he was able to figure out. It wasn’t exactly easy to figure out more about your soulmate when an enthusiastic Dick hovered around you upon knowing about Tim’s soulmate. It got worse when Tim officially moved into Wayne Manor after his father’s death.

But even with Dick hovering like a hummingbird, Tim found texting with Marinette soothing. To have a friend outside of school, out of the Justice League, to have a friend where he could just be Tim...it was...relaxing. Especially when he heard of Lila’s moving due to her mother’s job.

After all, it’s not like he had something to do with it. Absolutely not.

Of course, there were a few times he almost spilled the details, but he was easily able to catch himself, oftentimes redirecting it towards Marinette’s day or her latest commission.

Sometimes they would even video chat, although rarely thanks to time zones. But the few times they did, they would each ingrain each second they spent with each other, as they never knew when they were actually going to meet one day… even if it came closer than what either of them thought.

Tim reread his text for the umpteenth time, his mind still trying to process the message before realizing he hadn’t answered back.

Metropolis? As in, the city where the Man of Steel resides?

She...she was heading to Metropolis? In two days?

Thank Kon for dragging him here!

Marinette: Yup! To think we were able to win Luthor’s scholarship trip! Can you believe it? I can’t wait to see what his program could offer! When I found out that Luthor was holding a scholarship trip for those who would win his Foundation for the Arts’ essay competition, there was no way I was going to let that chance go! Especially when I heard that the trip was extended to the winner’s entire class, regardless of nationality. It would basically be our second senior trip before the first one ^^

Must be very excited then.

You bet I am!

To think...to think he would be able to see her in person… He watched as his happiness wrote for him.

Tim: Wanna hear something that would make the trip more exciting?

What would make this trip even more exciting?

Marinette hummed into the palm of her hand as she watched Tim type.

Tim: I’ll get to see you. Face to face. I’ll be in Metropolis for the next week...what are the odds?

Alya never saw Marinette turn red so quickly, watching as Marinette almost fell off her bed.

“Marinette! Oh my god, Nino! Help! She’s on cloud nine!”

Marinette fanned herself as she bit her lip, fiddling with the green ribbon she had wrapped around her wrist in case she wanted to tie her hair up.

Today was her second day in Metropolis, Marinette now nervous compared to when she first arrived the day before.

After having a tour of Metropolis University, Bustier’s class was able to have the day to themselves and as if on cue, Tim texted her if she was free even though she had already shared her itinerary with him the moment she recovered from her shock those days ago.

So now here she was, standing in Heroes’ Park, wondering if she looked foolish standing in front of Superman’s statue.

Or perhaps because she looked so out of place. Who wears a sunhat nowadays? Oh wait, she did...why exactly? Because freckles.

Marinette looked at her phone, wondering if she got the time wrong. No. She was literally a whole ten minutes early.

So why-

“You scream tourist you know.” A voice said, snapping Marinette from her thoughts. As she turned to see who it was, she felt her heart skip a beat.

He always seemed short, but...now being faced to face…

“Well, sorry for having freckles. The sun-” Marinette pouted, caught by surprised when Tim cupped her face.

“Freckles? I never knew you had them. Then again, you can’t really see them when they’re so small and through a screen at that.”

Marinette listened as her heart threatened to jump from her chest, more so when Tim realized what he was doing. Pink dusted his face. “Sorry, I-”

“I-It’s alright.” Marinette managed to find herself saying, pulling her hat closer to her face. “I...I also wasn’t expecting you to be taller than me.”

That caused Tim to sputter.

“You thought I was-”

“Hey! In my defense, I only had furniture to get some type of knowledge of how tall you were. Seems like I was wrong.” Marinette confessed.

The two stared at each other before laughing, Marinette attempting to reel in her heart with each laugh Tim let out. She didn’t think they would sound so different to what she was used to listening to through the phone.

When the two managed to compose themselves, Tim and Marinette looked at each other again. Marinette dusted off nonexistent dust off her yellow-canary shorts, readjusting her black purse that crossed her red blouse. Tim cleared his throat.

“Well, let’s start this again.” Marinette nodded, a smile on her face.

“Hey. My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” She comfortably answered back, clasping her hand with the hand Tim offered. “I’m happy to finally meet you, Timothy.” Tim squeezed her hands, noticing how her hand fit perfectly in his.

Perhaps this was where his parents went wrong. Perhaps this is why their relationship didn’t work...lack of communication...lack of appreciation and affection…

But he won’t let them end but like them, not when he knows how much she means to him.

Giving her hand a squeeze, Tim smiled at him.

“As am I, Marinette.”

#maribat #timari #anju writes #MaribatDrabbleExchange

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volleychumps · 4 years

Note

Heyy!! 💙 Selena here! Would It be posible yo request a scenario, please? So its a normal day at school and suddenly the reader overhear a conversation of her current boyfriend with one of his friends in which he confesses that he's just dating the reader to win a bet of 1.000 yens? Completely crushed she doesn't know how to react but she was not the only one accidentally listening.Noya who has a huge Crush on reader was also there... ¿ What would he do now? Nsfw included please! Enjoy!

It would be possible!! This turned out really fluffy instead of nsfw content just because I like to have a build-up of things, I hope that’s alright<3 🥺

And my inbox has been flooded with need for more Noya so🥰

On the Line. (Nishinoya Yu x Reader)

----------------------------------------------------------------

“Noya, you’re drooling again.”

The libero wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, shooting a glare at a grinning Ennoshita, who casted a glance at your laughing figure a few seats away as his grin widens. Before Nishinoya Yu could completely deny that assumption, he stills in his seat when your eyes flit over to his brown ones, your lips stretching out in a warm smile as you offer a timid wave.

God, why did you have to smile like that?

Blinking out of a trance, the libero turns away from your direction abruptly as Ennoshita continues to sip his box of strawberry juice, somewhat used to his friend’s odd behavior when it came to you as the second year hums, a teasing tone to his voice.

“Considering the amount of girls you’re known to fawn over-”

“excUSE ME-”

“Y/N’s been kind of a long term thing, no?” Ennoshita questions casually, flipping a page in his manga he had open throughout the lunch period as Noya goes to defend himself- only to open his mouth and shut it again quickly, for he had no defense to that statement.

“Don’t kid yourself, Y/N’s just a close friend.” Noya chuckles somewhat forcibly as Ennoshita’s eyes lift from his page to arch a challenging brow. “Besides-”

Brown eyes soften, voice cracking a tad bit as he watches your boyfriend poke his head into the classroom door as a smile- a smile that wasn’t for him- brightens your features more than when you looked at him did.

“Close friends shouldn’t cross lines when they’re obviously drawn.” Noya finishes, and Ennoshita’s eyes fall back down to his manga, his wrist flicking to throw the empty juice carton at his friend’s head as Noya catches it with a glare.

“Stick with drooling over Kiyoko- you’re scarier when you say serious stuff.”

“I’ll have you know- wait, scarier?”

“Dude, have you met yourself?”

Before a snarky retort can be made about Ennoshita’s lack of empathy, Noya quiets down to realize you were no longer in the classroom, and Ennoshita had successfully distracted the libero from watching you leave with your boyfriend.

“I don’t know whether to thank you or punch you.”

“The former would be great, thanks.”

--------------------------------------------------------

“uGH practice is such a pain.” Noya whines as Tanaka whistles lowly in agreement from next to him, the iconic duo feeling lucky practice was delayed for the day due to Ukai’s tardiness, the coach getting held back by a prior engagement.

“I’ll meet you in the gym later?” Tanaka questions after Noya had released a groan after the realization that his notebook had been left behind- a notebook that held at least a dozen late homework assignments that needed to be in by tomorrow.

“Yeah, man- Tell Daddy Dai I’ll be there in a few.”

“Still can’t believe he lets you call him that.”

“Oh he doesn’t- on second thought he does. Tanaka, if you love me you’ll call him that when you see him.”

“Who the hell loves you?” His best friend sneers as Noya puts up a peace sign accompanied by a wide grin as he walks off, his smile lessening when his back turns again to his lonely trek in the mostly empty hallways of Karasuno.

Yeah, who would?

Before he can stifle it, your face popped up into his mind along with a tug at his heartstrings as Noya continues his slow walk back to his classroom, a glazed look taking over his eyes as he wonders if you made it home safely with that asshat of a boyfriend-

Until he saw it.

Noya pauses mid-step, the glazed look being blinked away as he saw you standing outside a classroom that wasn’t yours, the door open slightly ajar as your hair skewed the image of your face. An excited smile spreads on the libero’s face at the thought of an unexpected conservation with you, his pace picking up until he sees something that made his breath hitch in his throat as he stands two steps away from you.

Your eyes were brimmed with unshed, shining tears that seemed to threaten to spill over at any moment, and before Noya can ask you why on instinct, you had grabbed his arm in a tight grip, putting a weak finger to your lips as you signal him to stay quiet.

With furrowed brows, the libero complies, leaning against the wall next to you as he remains focused on your grip on his arm, an involuntary blush rising to his cheeks at the situation at hand-

but it didn’t last very long.

Noya’s ears perk up at the sound of a very familiar voice- a voice that he dreaded hearing call your name every day during break times.

“...yeah, man- I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

He felt your grip seem to loosen on his arm.

“With Y/N? Dude, I don’t know why you would go so far for 1000 yen-”

He watched a painful expression cross your face as your eyes widened in absolute disbelief.

“Right? I thought it would be easy, but she looks at me like I’m the best thing to ever happen to her, what would you do in my situation?”

But the instigating factor?

“Dump her. You agreed because she seemed cute and easy, right?”

When the tears tipped over the eyes he loved, his vision turned into a blurry fit of rage, shoving off the wall before ripping his arm from your grasp as you attempt to keep him next to you. Noya stops for a second when your hand reaches out to grab at the back of his shirt material, your reddened eyes widening when the libero smiles a closed-eye grin at you, mouthing the words you needed to hear most.

It’ll be okay. I’ll be back.

“1000 yen richer, I guess. Anyways, I wonder where that airhead-”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence as a fist collided with his cheek, Nishinoya seething so angrily he hardly spared a glance at the friend that made a dash for the exit at the arrival of the school’s known-troublemaker.

All those days watching you be with him. A hidden part wishing he was him. The convincing of himself that he was happy you were happy-

Noya’s eyes mimicked the ones in which he was on the court, eyes spinning dangerously serious as brown eyes narrowed, a fist grabbing at your boyfriend’s collar from where he now laid with a slightly cracked lip.

When this was how things were all along?

“What the hell are you doing?!”

A humorless chuckle. “What does it look like? A fucking tea party?”

When his fist reels back again, he stops when he feels a hand rest gently on the back of his elbow, Noya just knowing from the touch that it was you as his tense muscles relax almost immediately.

“N-Noya...”

At the sound of your cracked, stuttering voice, the libero releases a heavy sigh, releasing your now ex-boyfriend’s shirt so that at least his head hits the classroom floor as Noya stands protectively in front of you.

“Bastard...you think you’ll get away with something like this?” Your ex seems to chuckle a tad deliriously as Noya ignores him, shuffling through his pockets before dropping a few crumpled bills at his feet, your ex finally taking notice of you with widened eyes.

“I don’t care. I just get suspended again, but you?” Noya sneers, kicking the bills towards what he had always considered not good enough for you. “You fucked with the wrong person, asshole. Here’s 4300 yen (about 40 USD), whatever shitty bet you had going on is off, don’t even look her way anymore. Not like you deserved it in the first place anyway.”

With that, Noya spun on his heel to grab your hand hastily, adrenaline running through his veins before he feels you freeze at the sound of his voice.

“Y-Y/N, baby please-”

“I don’t know if he didn’t make it clear enough,” You glance at him once more, etching the image into your mind before mentally discarding it. “But we’re through. If there was any we to begin with.”

Noya’s brows reach towards his airline before he releases a low whistle at you’re words, surprised when you’re the one to lead him out of the class, stopping only when you reach the exit of the school.

“Y/N-”

“Have anywhere I can maybe, I don’t know, cry?”

Noya’s eyes widen as a million thoughts flit through his head as he takes a chance. Slowly, he turns your figure so you’re facing him fully, gently prying the hands that covered the features you now deemed ugly away before tucking your face into his chest-

the libero determined to make you feel as beautiful as he saw you as, feeling the sobs wreck through your body as your hands tightened at the shirt material on his chest.

Looks like he’ll be missing practice today.

----------------------------------------------------------------

“You didn’t have to go that far.”

You smile a little at Noya’s look of seriously? from his place in the kitchen, causing you to giggle a little from underneath the blanket he had given you as you relaxed a bit more into his couch. The smile dwindles as you wonder how you had gotten here, puffy-eyed and broken-hearted in the house of someone you deemed as a close friend-

but why had your heart beat picked up when his back was to you in that classroom as he faced your ex? Why did that smile he casted to you before rushing in to defend your dignity make you loosen your grip on his shirt as a newfound feeling emerged in your stomach?

Had he always been there? Just in that little pocket in the back of your mind, waiting to be seen, as someone simply stood in front of him?

“I left my homework at school for you. I’m expecting my payment in m&ms.”

You shake your head of those thoughts just as Noya sets down a steaming mug of hot tea in front of you, and your eyes widen before you subconsiously raise a hand to his hair, retort falling silent.

Noya blushes, eyes narrowing at the small giggle that slips your lips as he occupies the couch seat next to you. “What?”

“Your hair’s not being held up by like, three different products of hair gel.” You observe, genuinely interested in his soft locks as the heat in the libero’s cheeks deepen before he scoffs.

“Two actually, imagine being uneducated.”

“Imagine assaulting someone because of a childish bet.”

“It was self-defense.”

“In what way?” You find yourself laughing as Noya turns fully towards you, a lopsided grin on his lips that had your laugh dying down at the pounding in your chest.

“You’re pretty when you laugh.”

Embarrassed, you retract your hand from his hair hastily before picking up the mug and taking a deep sip, flinching at the heat as Noya calms his nerves at the girl he’s been in love with acting so cute next to him.

The mug hits the table gently as you set it down, a far-off look in your eyes as Noya takes his share of the blanket, wondering if you were uncomfortable with the proximity before you relax into his side, your head leaning on his shoulder.

“I have to wonder...if all I was had been a game all along.”

“Apparently the no sad talk rule I put in place before we entered my domain was ignored, and it shows.”

You go to swat him playfully before Noya catches your wrist, brown eyes soft and looking at you as if he were afraid you would break at any moment.

“Y/N, you’re literally the prettiest, nicest girl in the grade- it’s not your fault you decided to make the worst possible choice.”

A pink dusts across your cheeks at the compliments before you pout. “But it kinda is.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Oh yeah?” You laugh into your mug, not realizing Noya had been watching you with a gaze you were used to catching in the middle of breaks or class. “And who would be a better choice?”

“Are you joking?”

You blink at the deadpan of Noya’s voice before he scoffs as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Ennoshita. Are you dumb?”

“I was thinking more you, but yeah I could totally-”

The couch is soft against your back as the blanket drapes over Noya’s back as you find yourself sandwiched between him and the couch, his hands placed firmly next to your head to support himself as he keeps his weight off of you. Your eyes trace over his features as his brown eyes seem to seriously stare into yours, your faces inches apart.

“You can’t take it back.”

You melt into the feel of his lips upon yours, smiling into it as something in you just feels so right in this moment, pushing him back a little as soon as his hand trails down to your waist.

“Noya, I just got out of the worst day of my life-”

“Then I’ll make every day better than the last.”

“It’s not too soon?” You ask worriedly as Noya digs his face into your neck, and you blush when his lips move against your neck.

“Nothing’s too soon when I’ve been waiting this long, babe.”

Noya smirks when your skin seems to heat under his touch, feeling you squirm when his hands move to rest on your waist gently as he peppers your neck in kisses.

“How long have you been waiting?” You pout, pulling Noya out of your neck as the libero scoffs, his lips moving to trace up your jawline before making his way across your cheek sweetly, stopping only when his lips hover over yours.

“Too long, apparently.”

“C-Can I kiss you?”

Rolling his eyes, Noya cups your face gently as his thumb traces your cheek, speaking against your lips as he feels your lips curl upwards into it.

“I don’t know if I have to make this clear- but you don’t have to ask your boyfriend for permission, babe.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

General works: @takemetovalhalla @kasandrafaye @dreebbles @savemesteeb

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu anime #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu karasuno #karasuno #nishinoya #nishinoya x reader #haikyuu nishinoya #nishinoya fluff #nishinoya yu x reader #nishinoya yu #nishinoya yuu

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madmansan · 3 years

Text

28 Days

Fantasy au - Demon!San x F!Reader

Trigger Warnings

Mentions of death and blades.

Labyrinth - part 1

Aldbarrow. A village known for it's hunters, jewellers, bakers and smiths. But most famous of all, was the Labyrinth that lay just outside the village.

From the outside, all one could see was a large stone wall, that would tower above even the tallest man's head. However, lurking inside was the castle of the Demon King.

Guarding the castle were his loyal demon subjects, that skulked around the Labyrinth to feed on the souls of any human that dares to enter. Or so it was believed. You see, no one had ever entered the Labyrinth and returned. It was a mystery that people were terrified to discover. But not me.

You paused, the ink from your quill blotching on to the page. You bit your lip in frustration, grabbing a bit of cloth and gently dabbing up the small puddle. You placed the quill back into the ink pot, shuffled the parchments into a neat pile and placed them under the false bottom of one of the drawers in your desk.

You were planning on observing the Labyrinth, maybe even entering, so that you could write a book about it. It was a good idea at first but you soon realized that your parents would kill you if they found out.

'Your Auntie entered that Labyrinth and never came back! Don't even think for a second that I would let you anywhere near it. I don't care if it would help the village! You're. Not. Going.' Your Mother would always say. That's why you had to hide it.

Every night, once your parents had gone to sleep, you would sneak out and examine the wall. Running your fingers along the rocks, comparing plants that grew between the cracks to the ones in the village, you even scaled the wall once to try and see over but it was far too dark to see anything.

You heard the door creak open and turned around to see your little sister swinging from the door handle.

"Good morning, Roslyn." You smiled at her, closing the drawer.

She hummed in response, slowly plodding her way over, carelessly swinging her teddy bear back and forth. "Whatchya doin'?" She said, running one of her little fingers along your drawer.

"Why are you asking?" You replied, giving her a playful smirk.

She looked up at you with a hint of mischief in her eyes, "There's a question already on the table, y/n!" She's surprisingly cheeky for a six year old.

You threw your hands up in defence, "Alright, you got me. I'm starting to write my book about the Labyrinth. I plan on sneaking out tonight to see if I can find out anything about the demons inside." The little girl's eyes widened with excitement.

"Really!" She yelled, quickly cupping her mouth, as to not alert your mother and leaned in closer. "You're really gonna go? What if something bad happens? No, nothing bad will happen. I'm sure it will be great. Can I come?!"

You placed your hands on her shoulders trying to cool her excitement, "Nothing bad will happen because I would be cautious. I can't say that much for you." She sulked and you laughed, picking her up and spinning her around. "It'll be okay. I'll report back to you every detail of my observations." You placed a hard kiss on her cheek and watched as she wiped it off, squirming out of your grip. You giggled as you watched her run off down the stairs.

❁

You grabbed your bag, flinging it over your shoulder and heading out the front door. Roslyn came tumbling out behind you, chasing after her friends whilst still putting on her shoes. You sighed as she stumbled and you bent down to tie her laces properly before letting her run off again.

You had a burst of energy as you marched to the forge. You had commissioned a dagger from the village blacksmith, and one of your best friends, Mingi. If you wanted to enter the Labyrinth, you knew you would need something to defend yourself with.

You clutched the metal handle, swinging the wooden door open with a hearty 'Good morning!' You heard the joyful-sounding greetings of more than one voice down the hall and you could only assume, Mingi's jeweller friend Hongjoong had come round to visit.

You entered the small forge, Mingi hammered a glowing red metal rod against his anvil whilst Hongjoong sat in the corner gently fiddling with some wire and gems.

"Is it ready?" You asked, barely masking your excitement.

"Ah! The dagger!" Mingi exclaimed, placing the rod back in the hearth and removing his thick, tattered gloves. He walked to a desk behind Hongjoong's seat, who's eyes followed him before spinning back round to you.

"Why are you in need of a dagger?" He asked, a bright smile painting his face. You hadn't really spoken to him before, apart from the occasional 'good morning' when seeing him on the street or in Mingi's forge.

Before you could respond Mingi cut in. "She's being an idiot. As per usual." He walked up to you and you gave him a slap on his arm. He laughs at your weak attempt to hurt him and you huff, knowing that you couldn't win.

You turned your attention back to Hongjoong, who sat patiently, his smile not faultering at all. "I'm going to the Labyrinth!" You said, your pride filling the room as you pushed out your chest.

Hongjoong started to laugh but it soon faded when he realized you were being serious. "Wait, seriously?!" He yelled, his smile dropping to gape his mouth in shock.

"Don't worry, Hongjoong. I thought she was crazy when she first told me as well." Mingi laughed, handing you the blade like he was giving you some sort of award. You snatched it from his hands and stuck your tongue out at him.

"I've been studying it for a while. I want to write a book about it. It would most likely be less of a threat if we knew more about it." Hongjoong's eyes lit up, mouthing a small 'wow'. You proudly looked back to Mingi, who huffed at his friend taking your side. He still held out one of his hands, expecting his payment. You reached into your bag and pulled out a paper envelope that contained the money for his work.

He opened it, inspecting the amount inside. You sighed, "Come on, Mingi! You really think I would swindle you? He closed the envelope and looked back up at you.

"You can never be too sure." He said, eyeing you suspiciously, a playful grin appearing at the corner of his lips.

Suddenly, loud yells came from outside and all of you bolted to the door to see what was going on.

People were running wild, shouting out various things but one stood out to you the most. The yell of your little sister's name.

Panicked, you grabbed a person on the street and asked them what was going on.

"Y/n! Two of Roslyn's friends came running to us saying that her and Erina went missing whilst in they were playing in the woods."

Your heart sunk. A cold shiver ran up your spine and left you with an overwhelming sense of dread. You pushed through the crowd, desperately screaming out the names of the two missing girls, whilst Mingi and Hongjoong followed swiftly after.

The crowd went silent, curved around the base of the hill that lead up to the woods and - you felt your throat tighten at the thought. The Labyrinth.

You pushed your way through the people, with gentle apologies coming from the two boys tailing you. In front of everyone you saw Erina, Roslyn's friend and only one of the two missing girls.

You knelt down in front of her and made sure she was alright before you asked her what happened.

"Me and Roslyn went further into woods."

"How far?!" You quickly responded.

"To the Labyrinth."

"You went to the Labyrinth?!"

"She wanted to observe it to help you!" She exclaimed, starting to panic.

"Where is she?!" You asked. She didn't respond. "Erina!" You clutched on to her shoulders.

Her face dropped, "It's all my fault."

You froze for a moment, each breath you took being less controlled than the last. You started to run towards the woods, tears pouring down your cheeks, screaming out your little sister's name again and again.

Some of the large men in the village grabbed you and pulled you back as you fought against them. You shoved out of their grip for just a couple seconds before being grabbed again.

Eventually, your muscles weakened and you fell to the floor in defeat. A strong hand squeezed your shoulder and you looked over to see Mingi, who sat on his knees next to you.

"I know it hurts, y/n, but ... ' he trailed off, watching your tear stained face stare at him, lip quivering, "there's nothing you can do." You started to sob once more, falling into his chest as he wrapped his arms around you in a tight hug.

❁

You couldn't bring yourself to tell your mother, but it inevitably came to her attention.

You sat at your desk and stared at the ripped up pile of parchments that lay on the floor. She had asked to see them after finding out Roslyn's motive. She blamed you, screamed at you, ripped your work to shreds, she didn't care that you were hurting too.

You finally got out of your chair and started to pick up the pieces, when one of them caught your eye.

'It was a mystery'

The Labyrinth was a mystery. Nobody actually knew if Roslyn was dead. Your body burned with anger, fists clenching around the pieces of parchment before slamming them to the floor and striding towards your bed. You reached under, grabbing your bag and starting to pack some necessities.

The village thought she was dead, but you were going to find out for sure.

❁

After getting a couple hours sleep to see you through the day, you climbed out of you window and started to head in the direction of the mountain.

It wasn't a long walk to the Labyrinth, but your dedication to save Roslyn was so strong, you ended up there in under ten minutes.

You had been up there dozens of times before, but this time was the only time you felt absolutely terrified. The wall seemed ten times higher, ten times longer, but knowing Roslyn was there just the day before, you knew that you couldn't turn back.

You were entering that Labyrinth, and you didn't care if you weren't going to come back out.

You heard some twigs crack behind you, followed by a small rock landing at your feet.

You turned to see Hongjoong poking his head around one of the trees, "Oh, hi." You said, awkwardly. He cautiously looked around him before stepping out into the clearing, joining you by the Labyrinth wall. You bent down and picked up the rock he threw, "Was this really necessary? No one's around." He scratched the back of his neck and looked at the ground awkwardly. "Let me guess, Mingi sent you to convince me not to go in. Well, I'm not going to listen so-"

"Mingi didn't send me." He cut you off, bluntly.

You looked at him quizzically as he reached into his pocket. "I'm not here to stop you either. I just want you to have this." He held up a thin silver chain, with a small heart pendant in the middle. "I remember reading somewhere that demons are deadly allergic to silver. I can't be too sure if it's actually true, but it's best to be safe anyway. May I?" He moved his hands towards your neck and you leaned forward, nodding your head. Your heart warmed knowing that he was trying to help you and not drag you back to the village.

He clipped it around your neck and leaned back, running his fingers along the chain, admiring the small heart before his cheeks flushed bright red. "I-I didn't mean to make the pendant a heart! It was one I made a while back. It's the first one I pulled out when looking through my silver necklaces for one to give you." He trailed off still mumbling to himself.

You placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Thank you, it's extremely kind of you to do this for me. May you find happiness, Hongjoong." You smiled at him and he quickly returned it. He awkwardly stepped away and waved you goodbye, wishing you luck.

Once his figure had vanished into the woods you turned your attention back to the wall. You had to go. No turning back.

To be continued

Author's note: Ahhhh the new story!! I've been really nervous to post this but here we are! This is only the first chapter and the others probably won't be out for a while, but it'll be nice to see what people think! Thank you so much for reading this and I hope you have a great morning/night, wherever you are in the world! ❤❤

#ateez headcanons #ateez #ateez imagines #ateez reactions #ateez x reader #ateez scenarios #choi san #ateez san #san x reader #san x y/n

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ncssian · 4 years

Text

A Favor: Part Two

Nessian Modern AU

Masterlist

a/n: im so sorry i know i need to start editing these

***

Nesta stands in her guest room at Cassian’s cabin, hands on her hips as she eyes the garbage bags full of things she managed to salvage from her old apartment.

All of her rain-soaked clothes sit in two huge bags, waiting to go through the laundry, while her books are carefully spread out on the windowsill, floor, and anywhere they can catch enough sunlight to dry their pages. Nesta almost cried when she saw that Lorene had salvaged her few adult coloring books and the art supplies to go with them, still dry.

For a brief moment, she’s glad she didn’t buy any physical copies of her textbooks this year— the loss of that money would be too much to bear.

A brief knock sounds at her door, and Nesta spins to find Cassian standing there, laundry basket in hand. “I can take your clothes down for you if you want,” he offers, lifting his own basket with a hand.

Nesta’s lips tighten. He wants to do her laundry with his. Their laundry will get cleaned together. Her underwear will get tangled up with his.

Cassian’s brow furrows. “Nesta?”

This is her new reality now. She’ll have to accept it at one point or another.

“We can do separate loads if you want,” Cassian adds. “Feyre told me you— well, she said you might be more uncomfortable with some things than others. It’s totally fine if you don’t want your clothes mixing—”

“No.” Nesta finally snaps out of it. “I don’t care about the laundry. My clothes are right here.”

Because she has a sneaking suspicion she might be being unintentionally bitchy again, Nesta helps Cassian drag her bags of drenched clothes downstairs.

“I feel sort of bad for bullying you into this deal,” Cassian rambles as he dumps clothes into the washer. “Which is why I need you to know you can enforce whatever rules and boundaries you want while you’re here. If you’d prefer I never speak to you for the rest of your time here, I can manage that, too.”

Nesta looks at him with a hint of disbelief. Sometimes he says the oddest things. “I don’t want you to never speak to me again.”

There’s relief in his sagging shoulders. “That’s good,” he says as he pours out detergent. “I mean, I was a little worried you were against this so much because you hated me, but you don’t know me enough to hate me, do you?”

Hate. Nesta rolls the word over her tongue, tastes the hard corners of it, and decides it doesn’t fit for Cassian. Not even close. She wonders how to articulate this to Cassian.

She settles on: “You seem nice enough. Obviously, since you’re letting me live in your luxury mountain cabin for free. But I don’t want to set any boundaries while I’m here. You shouldn’t have to change your normal lifestyle just for a guest. Do whatever you want; it’s your place.”

Cassian presses a button and the rumble of the washing machine begins. “I want you to be comfortable,” he says, turning to face her completely. “Whatever you need, Nesta, seriously.”

For starters, it would make Nesta comfortable if he didn’t say her name like that. His earnestness makes her skin itch, but she’s not going to tell him that.

Instead, she bravely lifts her chin. “I’ve been pushed so far out of my comfort zone that I don’t think I know how to find my way back.” The honest truth. “At this point, you might as well keep me out here.”

Cassian’s eyes narrow. “If you don’t tell me what things bother you, I’ll have to find them out for myself, you know.” It sounds like a challenge.

“Go ahead,” Nesta deadpans. She doesn’t know what Feyre’s told him about her, but contrary to popular belief, Nesta isn’t a glass doll. Sensitive, high maintenance, yes, but fragile? Never.

She turns on her heel and leaves Cassian in the laundry room, determined not to let her circumstances get the better of her while she stays here.

***

Cassian takes everything back. He’s obsessed.

He can’t pinpoint the exact moment, how or when or why he decided he likes Nesta. Maybe it was an amalgamation of different things, but by the time she settles onto his living room couch with a box of takeout Thai food, it’s safe to say he’s fascinated.

She’s nothing like how Feyre talks about her. She’s barely anything like the woman he met at the dinner party two years ago. The problem is, Cassian hasn’t pinpointed what she’s like. There’s still too many walls in place, but here, as she slurps noodles unabashedly while watching TV with an intense fixation, she’s softer than he’s ever seen her. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t feel the need to defend herself to a sitcom; there’s no self-consciousness, only a deep focus on the Community episode they’re currently watching.

Cassian splits his focus between offering commentary in an attempt to make Nesta laugh and observing her reactions from the corner of his eyes. A few things he’s noticed so far: 1) Her cheeks bulge like a squirrel’s when they’re full of food; she seems to have no shame about this. 2) She isn’t inclined to respond to Cassian when he makes comments on the show, but the corners of her mouth tilting up imply that she likes it anyway. 3) She watches sitcoms like she’s studying for a final exam about them.

When the episode finally ends, she turns to him and glances at his hands. “Are you going to eat that?” she says.

Cassian glances down at his untouched container of food, a little surprised, but hands it over to her without a fight. He can’t pretend it doesn’t do something to him to see her eyes light up over something as simple as curry and rice.

Nesta’s poking her chopsticks around the box when she notices Cassian watching. “What?” she says, immediately on the defensive.

“You eat funny,” he admits. Her brows furrow so deeply he thinks they might create a permanent indentation. He’s quick to add, “It’s adorable. Seriously.” It isn’t something he would have said yesterday, but he’s taking Nesta’s words from the laundry room to heart. He won’t put a damper on his personality as long as she can handle it.

Her hand comes up to self-consciously touch her cheek, but she quickly drops it. “Play the next episode,” she says as she picks up her chopsticks again, and that’s the end of that.

***

Cassian wastes no time coming up with ways to push Nesta out of her comfort zone, just as he promised. The next morning, he greets her downstairs in nothing but a pair of sweatpants. Nesta takes a long, slow blink at his bare torso, muscled arms, and brown skin, and turns around to get started on making breakfast. It’s not good enough— he catches a glimpse of her reddened cheeks when she reaches for the milk container anyway.

It’s only until they’re both settled in the living room after dinner that he realizes he doesn’t have the upper hand he thought he did.

Nesta is stretched out on her stomach on the Persian rug in an oversized tee and nothing else. Her bare legs swing in the air behind her, and she’s listening to music and coloring.

Cassian’s unanswered emails sit abandoned on the phone in his lap. He truly can’t stop staring; there’s just too much to absorb.

For starters, she wears glasses. Big, round, gold-rimmed glasses that are almost slipping off her nose at the moment. That revelation alone is so affecting that he has to quickly move on to other, smaller details. Like the sound of her uncapping different markers and filling in smooth lines on the page before her. Cassian feels a desperate desire to see what she’s coloring. Her hair is up in a ponytail, and her legs…

Cassian can’t say that ever since he first took notice of the beauty mark at the corner of Nesta’s lush mouth that he hasn’t wondered where else on her body she might be hiding little moles and freckles. He just never expected to get an answer so soon. Because right there, where her shirt rumples up to reveal her bare thigh, is the smallest dark spot.

He wants to put his mouth on it.

His own thoughts take him by surprise, and he realizes he’s gripping his phone so hard the screen might crack.

He uncurls his fingers from the phone and squeezes his eyes shut against the wave of desire crashing into him. Desire and something else, something achingly fond and frustrated at the same time.

“Cassian?” The sound of his name has his eyes snapping open. Nesta’s watching him, brow furrowed. “Are you feeling okay?” she asks.

He feels stupid for trying to play this push-and-pull game with Nesta, because it’s barely even started and he’s already losing. “I’m gonna go put a shirt on,” he mutters, moving to get up.

Nesta’s lips turn down a little. “And ruin the view?” She says it completely seriously, not a hint of slyness to her words.

Cassian’s ass falls back into his seat in pure surprise. His eyes widen. “Was that a joke?” Did Nesta Archeron just make a joke?

Her frown turns deeper. “I don’t think so. Was it funny?”

“It was teasing.”

“Then it wasn’t a joke.” She shrugs and returns back to her coloring. “If you put a shirt on, I’m putting my pants on,” she says without looking up.

Cassian has absolutely no idea what he’s gotten himself into. But he doesn’t move from the couch for the rest of the evening.

***

By the end of the weekend, Nesta has gotten the hang of being around Cassian. There are several occasions in those first couple of days— slips of the tongue, really— where she pauses in trepidation, worried she’s said or done too much. She is always doing too much. But then Cassian grins, or laughs, or as of more often lately, teases her right back, and her muscles can relax again.

He has also relaxed around her. Nesta knows that quiet front he put up when they first met was partly for her benefit, because the more comfortable they become with each other, the more he reminds her of the Cassian Feyre’s always talking about. And yet, the person he is with her is nothing like the person she’s seen hanging around Feyre’s inner circle. This person doesn’t make her feel excluded or ignored. It’s the exact opposite— she hasn’t been on the receiving end of this much male attention since Tomas.

And as much as it surprises her to like it so much, she’s not in the mood for his particular brand of teasing at seven in the morning on a Monday.

She stumbles into the kitchen fully dressed and more than a bit disgruntled, needing the strongest cup of coffee available to get through her morning classes today. Cassian is already sitting at the island with his laptop, and raises his brows to see her up this early. He dares to smile at her before the sun is even fully up. “Glad to see you woke up ready to play, Nesta.”

Nesta almost throws her empty mug at his head. “Don’t talk to me,” she says, thumping her mug down beside the coffeemaker.

Taunting becomes questioning as he eyes her outfit. “You have somewhere to be at this hour?”

“I’m a law student,” she grumbles, punching buttons on the coffeemaker. “I have morning classes three days a week.” It’s unacceptable, but it isn’t the worst thing she’ll go through as she tries to get her J.D.

Cassian sits up straight at that. “Who’s taking you to class?” Her car is still in for repairs, and she has yet to rent one to make up for it.

“I’m Ubering,” she tosses over her shoulder.

“That’s ridiculous,” Cassian says. “I’ll drive you.”

Nesta spins around at that. “No way in hell.” She throws whatever bite she has into her refusal.

Cassian is unfazed. “It’s on my way to work.”

“You work from home.” He’s not even dressed.

“Then today is the day I’ll make a stop at corporate headquarters. My subordinates get to see my pretty face for once, you get to go to class, and we all win.” He grins, and in this moment Nesta truly hates his grin. It lights up his whole face in a way that should be illegal. He’s probably robbed banks with that grin.

Nesta doesn’t have the brain capacity to argue with him. She doesn’t even feel like criticizing the fact that at twenty-seven, Cassian runs the entire security division of Night Court Inc. thanks to the help of the CEO, also known as his adoptive brother.

She’s never met anyone who makes nepotism look so good.

Grabbing her steaming coffee mug and taking a deep sip, unflinching at the feeling of her tastebuds being burned away, she meets Cassian’s expectant gaze. “Get dressed.”

***

When Cassian texts to ask her when she’s getting out of class, she doesn’t expect him to actually show up outside the law building with drinks and a paper bag of food. She has to stop and glance around for a moment, as if he could possibly be here for somebody else.

Approaching him cautiously, Nesta takes the cup holder from his hand and inspects the contents. A green tea and a rainbow-colored slushie. She looks back up at Cassian, and he smiles. “Shall we?”

They end up settling under the shade of an oak tree on the lawn outside where her Principles of International Law class is held. “So how was your day?” Cassian asks as he bites into a burrito.

Nesta can’t remember the last time someone asked her that and sounded genuine about it, and she almost doesn't know how to answer. “It's noon,” she says.

“Fine. How was your last four hours?”

“Nothing more interesting than yours.” She eyes his outfit at that. She’s never seen Cassian in this manner. Work Cassian wears expensive buttondowns tucked into slacks. Work Cassian must use some kind of fancy product on his hair to make it so flowy, because for the first time ever, he looks exactly like the amount of money he makes. “You look so...adult. I’d almost buy it if you didn't have the taste palate of a five year old.” Nesta sips from her tea.

He actually rolls his eyes at her. “You wish you had what it takes to handle an every-flavor-slushie.” Because that's what he’s drinking, a heart attack in a 32 ounce cup.

“That's bait, and I’m not falling for it,” Nesta says through a mouthful of burrito.

“You don't need to.” He offers the drink out to her. “Try it.”

Nesta stares at the cup, chewing slowly. Usually the thought of sharing a straw with someone would disgust her, but—

She just wants to know how it tastes. Swallowing quickly, she grabs the drink. “Whatever,” she mutters, and wraps her lips around the red straw.

Cassian watches intently as she takes a deep pull. Ten different flavors hit her tongue at once, and she thinks her brain spasms. She's too tough to make a face, and swallows the slushie like it's nothing.

“You like?” Cassian looks hopeful.

Nesta slams the cup down. “It’s disgusting. My point was proven.”

He laughs. “Weak.”

More easy moments pass like this before he says, “I wish you came around Feyre’s more often. I could have gotten to know you earlier.”

Nesta stills, food halfway to her mouth. “What do you mean?”

Cassian shrugs. “It just seems odd that we’ve talked more in the last three days than in the last three years I’ve known of you. Why don’t you hang out with Feyre like Elain does?”

She stiffens, and considers whether the conversation is even worth continuing. “Feyre’s always with you guys,” she chooses her words carefully. “There’s rarely time left for me.”

She waits for Cassian to tell her that sharing exists, and that she’s allowed to be at Feyre’s place with Feyre’s friends at the same time, but he just watches her patiently. Waiting for her to go on.

“Besides, I used to come over all the time before my sister moved to Velaris. You were there, too.”

“I was?” That gets his attention; he drops his food and turns to face her fully. “What are you talking about?”

Nesta nods, but an odd, old feeling is bubbling up in her chest. It tastes hard and a little sad. “I doubt you noticed, but I was there. In the background while you guys got drunk or laughed together.”

He huffs an odd sort of laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous. I would have noticed you from a hundred foot radius from Feyre’s apartment. We’ve only seen each other twice before this weekend.”

Nesta is caught between disbelief and disappointment, but she hides it well with a scoff. “We’ve only spoken to each other twice, idiot. I’ve seen you plenty of times.”

Cassian looks like she just came up to him with scientific evidence that the sky is green and grass is blue, and he can’t wrap his mind around it. “That just doesn’t make sense,” he says.

Nesta raises a brow. “Are you implying I’m lying?”

He shakes his head quickly. “No, but— it’s like you’re saying I failed to notice a fucking lion in the room every time I didn’t see you. It’s just not something someone fails to notice. It’s impossible not to notice!” He throws his hands up.

You’re impossible not to notice. Nesta has no idea what to make of that, or whether she should be insulted or not. He didn’t say it with the same backhanded tone as so many of the people she knew in high school, but it didn’t sound like high praise, either. On the other hand, the words are so ironic they’re almost funny.

She settles for a shrug and begins sweeping up her napkins and trash. “Well, it isn’t impossible for a lot of people.” The look she throws him says clear enough, Including you.

He works his jaw, seeming upset, but helps Nesta up from the ground anyway. Walks her all the way back to his truck in near-silence and drives them home.

A/N: you’d think the ‘ready to play’ line was a cute reference but i actually just suck at writing banter so i needed to borrow from sarah.

tagging: @ladywitchling @sjm-things @thewayshedreamed @drielecarla @sensitiveillyrian @superspiritfestival @aliveahaahahafuck @cupcakey00 @sayosdreams @rainbowcheetah512 @claralady @thebluemartini @nessiantho @missing-merlin @duskandstarlight @lucy617 @sleeping-and-books @awesomelena555 @julemmaes @wickedqueenoffantasy

if you want to be added or removed please send an ask or dm!

#nessian #nessian fic #ncssianwrites #nesta archeron #cassian #a favor

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pedropascallovebot · 3 years

Text

Let's Kill Tonight

summary: You're a bit out of practice, but being entrusted with the retrieval and return of Helmut Zemo shouldn't be too hard, right? Even if he is your old sorta-boss and you still are nursing unfortunate loyalty towards the team. You can manage. And him being... slightly more attractive than how you last left him won't be a problem.

Right?

warnings and a/n: i have.... no clue what this is if not a complete rewrite of mcu canon purely for self-indulgence. reader has a kinda shady past and in result will talk graphically about violence in later chapters and there's lots of gun action in this one. very fun, very cool! alright. i hope y'all enjoy teehee

—

The weather where you're at doesn’t usually vary much from a sunny sky, but alas, you’re absolutely drenched by the time you step inside the diner. You hadn’t expected the rain. Your usual five minute walk to work turned into a hike through muddy sidewalks and water droplets that kept hitting your eyes, and by the time you tied your apron around your waist the day felt over before it even started. Your boss gives you a closed-lip smile and glances at your empty section of tables, and you just know you’re going to be late on rent again.

For what it’s worth, Lüleburgaz isn’t the worst place to slip under the radar. It’s not underpopulated by any means, but it makes it perfect to blend in with the crowd as best you can. Honestly, you're just trying to make it a day without a proper therapist. Your roommates are great listeners, don't get it twisted- but all they really know about you is you're Sokovian and they don't really need to hear about the stuff that happened before your country was crushed by some guys in tights and iron suits. They don't ask you much, and you're grateful. After an unfortunate five-year gap in employment (which isn’t your fault- it’s kinda hard to find jobs when you’re reduced to dust unexpectedly) you were lucky to find somewhere that was willing to hire you without a legally issued identification card and that was also willing to pay in cash under the table. You broke out the books and attempted to learn the language as best as you can, and while you're struggling a bit, you can at least understand the menu and what a customer is ordering. It was far from ideal- ideal would be completely erasing any trace of memory regarding you and your… history, so to speak, from anybody who has the potential to be a threat to you. Ideal could also be an island somewhere, maybe Praslin or Nassau, where you could swim in clear waters and drink copious amounts of fancy fruity drinks instead of whatever liquor your roomies had hiding under the counter. But until that happens, being on the sorta-run for some questionable past career choices seems to stick.

Said questionable career choices led you to be introduced to a network of interesting people, some less horrible than others, but all of them carried the same unmistakable signal of danger displayed in flashing lights above their heads. When you hear the bell to the restaurant door jingle, signaling the arrival of someone new, that weird gut feeling activates and your eyes flicker up to see a pair of high heels and sunglasses, even though the sun hasn’t been out all day. Everyone else eating their food don’t even spare a glance to the door. This should comfort you, it should tell you that you're fine and that there's nothing to worry about, but it absolutely doesn’t and suddenly you’re inconspicuously making your way to the back, muttering something to your boss about taking your break early. Ripping off your apron, you throw it to the side and let it land on the ground next to you, and you lean your head against the brick wall behind you. Your fingers are twitching as the pressing issue of impending doom continues to rise in your gut. You barely register the creaking sound of the back gate opening.

“Do you want a cigarette?” Suddenly, you’re in fighting stance as an unfamiliar voice speaks less than a foot away from your ear. You don’t recognize this new face, but she looks expensive and entirely too out of place for a diner that receives in its eggs already prepared and frozen.

“I’ll take that as a no, then,” she continues, and fishes a lighter and pack out of her coat pocket. “Good choice. These things will kill you- and so will this godawful food you serve here. What a relief that after today you won’t step foot in this place ever again, huh?”

Your mouth opens to say something, but you decide against it. Instead, you slightly lower your fists, keeping your eyes trained on her seemingly unbothered expression. She takes a long drag of her cigarette before giving you any more information. The silence is deafening, and you mentally take note of the clear path you have through the open fence and towards the street if you chose to run. Something tells you this lady didn’t arrive here on foot though, and she probably had an expensive vehicle waiting out front waiting to catch up to you if you chose to make a break for it.

“You’re jumpy- probably a little bit out of practice from the whole ex-assassin thing, right? I can work with that. I have to applaud you: as far as hide and seek spots go, this wasn’t horrible. We’ll have to improve your people skills, but-“

“Who are you?”

You grow increasingly frustrated as it starts to sprinkle again, leaving you cold and wet as your company opens an umbrella she had previously stored away in her coat.

“I don’t like being interrupted, so let’s not make it a habit, hm? My name is Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, and you’ve become annoyingly important to my cause. Come on, we’re leaving.”

She begins to walk towards the gate, but you stay put, beginning to toy with the idea of unsheathing the knife stored in your boot.

“I’m not going anywhere with you, lady.”

This makes her turn around and sigh in frustration.

“The way I see it, you have two choices. Go back and finish bussing tables so you can make an extra couple dollars, or come with me so we can talk real business. As far as I’m concerned, you’re the only one between the two of us that poses a threat. I’m not the one with weapons hidden in my clothes, am I?”

Your eyes narrow, but you don’t argue. Instead, you hesitantly join her in her path towards a gaudy car (you knew it) that looks way too out of place to be in this parking lot. For a split second you consider going back and giving your manager somewhat of a notice of your absence, but Valentina’s walking so fast that you don’t really have time to continue considering.

“By the way, I distinctively said my name is Valentina Allegra de Fontaine- I don’t like to repeat myself, don’t make me do it again.”

You barely have time to sit down before Valentina is barking directions at her driver and scolding you for getting rain water in her backseat. You remain silent, and a little bit uncomfortable as Val finishes her cigarette completely before bothering to inform you of whatever the hell she’s got going on.

“Tell me what you know about super soldiers,” she finally gives, crossing her legs and glances at you expectantly.

You search her face for any kind of indication that she’s kidding, but she seems serious. It kinda feels like your soul is being stared into and you want to look away but you can’t. What does she not know about super soldiers that she can learn from you and not from literally anywhere else? Admittedly, all you know is what clips of newspapers would give you. Something about rogue experimentation, something-something Winter Soldier, and then, most recently, the Flag-Smashers and the rumors flying around that they've got some serum floating around. All of this seemed to be public knowledge though. Nothing a woman who’s willing to corner people in the backlots of their jobs couldn’t find out from a simple Google search.

“I asked you a question, didn’t I?”

“I can’t say I know much.”

For what feels like the millionth time in the span of twenty minutes, she sighs, bringing out her cell phone and starts punching some buttons.

“And what about this man? Does he ring a bell?”

You do your absolute best to not look as tense as you feel when out of the corner of your eye you see a familiar face in a tiny, grainy picture. She shoves the device in your hands, and right there center of the screen is-

“Zemo, right? That was a trick question. Hard to forget the face of your old boss, I’d assume.”

Suddenly, you’re upright in your seat, the earlier feeling of danger settling right back into place. Valentina, of course, just lets out a laugh, while you’re planning on swan-diving out the damn window.

“The Colonel isn’t my boss,” you protest, and a burning sensation makes its way to your throat.

“Isn’t he though?” Valentina is now fully turned towards you, her hand reaching to grab the phone back. More buttons are pressed, and she’s reading your name from an official looking online database. “It says here you’re wanted in a lot of countries, huh? I wonder why that is- oh, look at this, would you? Seems like your name and EKO Scorpion are mentioned in the same sentence at least three times just on this page.”

Your eyes narrow, and you waste no more time in grabbing your gun from your coat pocket, and Valentina seems to have the same idea, the phone in her hands is now replaced with a much newer and nicer pistol than you’re carrying. It’s silent in the car for a few seconds, and the driver in the front dares not move a muscle. Val is the first to break, and she lowers her weapon with a shit-eating grin you’re growing tired of seeing.

“Let’s start over. You’re associated with an elite death squad assigned to defend the interests of a country that’s no more than a pile of rubble and dead memorial flowers on the ground. You never had an official invitation, but they paid you good enough money for you to get your hands dirty for them. Too bad that without a leader, your little syndicate fell apart, didn’t it? Unfortunate, what happened to him really. And how inconvenient it must have been for you- I’m sure the law doesn’t usually side with individuals associated with terrorists. Luckily for you, you had a five-year break from being on the run.”

The urge to fall back into old form and pull the trigger at the slightest sign of trouble starts to rear its ugly head, but you take a deep breath and try to align your focus to your current situation. This doesn’t have to be deadly. She knows your history, she knows your name. She could just be blackmailing you. Easy fix, offer her better information on individuals that are far, far away from you. You’re sure you can think of something juicy enough to entertain her and fray her interest in you. This doesn’t have to end in a gunshot. She has access to all of the shit you’ve done. You don’t know what she knows. She could be from the American government. Kill her, and lessen the risk of being thrown in a prison cell to rot.You’re desperate, and you’re scared, and it’s making you vulnerable. You take another deep breath in, and lower your gun.

“What do you want?” Valentina falls back into her seat, clearly very amused by the entire situation now that guns weren’t drawn.

“The Flag-Smashers are becoming increasingly difficult as they’re forming alliances with seemingly every gang of mercenaries for hire. The serum belongs in the hands of someone who knows what to do with it, don’t you think?”

This lady is clearly out of her mind, but you’re too far in now and you don’t feel like questioning her on her morals or the ethics of this situation.

“I don’t want any business with Morganthau, and I don’t care about super soldiers. If that’s all you need me for, you might as well find someone else.”

“Who said anything about you dealing with Flag-Smashers? No, for you,” she starts, grabbing the phone once more and resuming that annoying clicking as she searches through various links, “I have a slightly less… hazardous task. No killing involved, sadly. I’m sure your lovely skillset will keep until it’s needed, but you will be finding Zemo for me, where I can pay him far too much money so he’ll kill the Flag-Smashers for me.”

It’s your turn to laugh, now. “In case you haven’t heard, Helmut Zemo is rotting away in prison for the rest of his life. How is he going to be of any help to you?”

Valentina doesn’t bother giving you a verbal response, just shoves that damn phone in your face again. You glare at her before your eyes skim over the article. Breakout. Zemo. The Falcon. Prison. You curse internally, and she lets her arm fall back to her side. You realize you haven’t been paying too much attention to where the driver was taking you both until you feel the vehicle holt to a stop, and you look up to realize you’re in a parking garage, and the faint sounds of airplanes fly overhead.

“As of now, you and I are a two-man team, but this won’t be the case for long. Zemo is with Sam Wilson and James Barnes in a safehouse in Riga. You and I aren’t the only ones looking for him, however, which makes your job a little tricky, but I don’t have much faith in the guy assigned in returning him to Berlin.”

“Who is he?”

“I assume the name John Walker doesn’t need an explanation?”

You shake your head.

“Walker can be of use to us, and we’re gonna need him- just not yet. What I need from you at the current moment is to make sure you get to these coordinates,” the driver is suddenly handing you a slip of paper with numbers scribbled on it, and you take it, “before Walker gets Zemo.”

You inhale, and Valentina gives you a look.

“I assume you have a question?”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to get Walker on your side sooner? Maybe if you could say the right thing, persuade him to bring Zemo to us-"

Valentina cuts you off with a scoff. “What? That if we tell Captain America to hand over an international prisoner so we can extract information and hire him to kill for us he’ll do it? Walker wants one thing right now: he wants that serum. Coincidentally, your friend Zemo wants that serum gone. IF we get to him first, which you will, he’ll be more than happy to oblige. Walker is at a tipping point, but he’s not useful to us. Yet. We just have to wait until he's vulnerable.”

She takes your silence as an okay to continue. “Get to Latvia, find Zemo. Use that pretty face of yours to charm him into coming with you, maybe share some war stories around the campfire. I don’t give a damn how you get it done. Walker’s already halfway there by now.”

You are really starting to question how Valentina is getting her information, but before you can say anything else, she’s motioning for her driver to slide another piece of paper in your hand. Your eyes go wide at the numbers listed after a dollar sign.

“I assume this would be enough to cover your services?”

You look up at her, nodding your head slightly.

“Half now, half when you bring him to me,” she finishes, and the driver is unlocking your side of the car. “It looks like we’re in business then.”

#helmut zemo #helmut zemo x reader #baron zemo x reader #helmut zemo x you #fanfiction #complete disregard for canon #marvel #mcu #i wrote this when i should of been sleeping

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jaskiers-sweetkiss · 3 years

Text

Sunset Swerve - Part 10

Pairing: Luke x OC

Word Count: 5.3K

Warnings: some swearing, i actually think that’s it for this part?

A/N: Okay here’s part 10, or as I’ve been calling it: Part 9 2: Electric Boogaloo. This is a very special edition of Sunset Swerve in which you get to read from Luke’s POV! This is covering the same time frame as part 9 but Luke’s pov provides some different scenes and new insight that’s kinda significant so I would really recommend not skipping it lol. I wanna shoutout @meangirlsx for being my sounding board and giving me loads of help on these two parts! As always, send me a message/drop a comment if you want to be tagged and let me know what you think!

Part 9 Masterlist

___

The week started off great for Luke. He was coming off the high from their performance at the open mic time and the relief that Julie didn’t have to quit the band. The latter fact also absolved him from his guilt of having suggested that Julie sneak out in the first place.

He found himself spending a lot of time with Jordan in the following days between talking about the book he’d started (she had been right, Annabeth was really cool though he maintained that she was stuck-up) and writing music. Their relationship had become much more civil following his birthday, though the fighting didn’t stop. Luke was starting to wonder if Jordan could survive without regularly making snarky or sarcastic comments. Still, the newfound closeness had been… nice. Luke wasn’t entirely sure how to categorize it, especially alongside the feelings he was certain he had for Julie.

As he sat across from Jordan, close enough that their knees were touching as they worked through some rhythms on a new song, Luke found that he wasn’t certain of anything. Jordan felt like a magnet- he realized belatedly that she always had- constantly pulling him closer and closer no matter how much either of them tried to pull away. He was starting to wonder if learning metaphors at book club was really a good thing.

“Hey Luke, can I ask you about something?” Julie pipped up from the entryway of the garage, pulling him away from his thoughts and Jordan.

“Sure, what’s up?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow quizzically.

“Oh, um, actually can we talk outside?” She asked and he furrowed his brow but nodded, setting down his guitar and jogging over to where she stood by the doors.

“This is gonna sound weird but can I ask why Jordan was with you at your house the other day?” Julie asked unsurely once they were outside and Luke froze, not expecting the question.

“How’d you…?” He trailed off, peering at the girl suspiciously. He hadn’t told anyone that he made frequent visits to his house, though he suspected the guys knew and Jordan had figured it out on his birthday.

“Alex and Reggie took me…” Julie said, tucking her hair behind her ear embarrassedly. “After I called you selfish and said you didn’t care about anyone but yourself…”

“That’s ironic coming from you, Miss Boundaries,” he scoffed irritatedly, brows furrowed in anger and Julie sighed.

“I’m really sorry Luke, it was wrong.”

“But now you wanna snoop even more,” he frowned, raising his brows as if to say ‘seriously?’

Julie opened her mouth to defend herself but Luke cut her off with a sigh before answering her question.

“If you must know, Jordan and I have spent every birthday together since we were five, I guess she figured I could use the comfort and familiarity.” He shrugged, trying to downplay how much the gesture had meant to him. It’s been really difficult, grieving his loss of his parents while they grieved him even twenty-five years later. At least when he was a runaway there was still always the possibility of reconciliation. Now there never would be.

“That’s really thoughtful,” Julie said, “But it doesn’t make sense. You guys hate each other, what happened?”

“Oh, we always have,” he smirked to himself, remembering that first day they met. He’d found a massive spider in the yard and thought it would be funny to put it in her hair, obviously, she hadn’t felt the same and the rest was history. “But our parents really wanted us to be friends so… birthday parties.”

“That explains a lot, actually,” Julie nodded thoughtfully and now it was Luke’s turn to be confused, tilting his head in a silent request for the girl to explain. “You guys have these moments where you like, exude this closeness that totally doesn’t fit the nature of your relationship. It makes sense now, knowing how long you’ve known each other.”

“I mean, there was a point where we were basically the closest thing to family each other had,” Luke shrugged, thinking about those last five months in the studio. “Guess we forgot about that when we died.”

They’d grow inexplicably close in those months that they’d lived together. It was an unspoken closeness, neither of them dared to acknowledge it but Luke saw it often in the little things. They’d stopped calling each other names when it was just them in the garage and sometimes when he was stuck on a new song he was writing she’d shout out suggestions from across the room. It was like they’d called an unconscious truce in their grief but when they came back as ghosts that all disappeared, the two immediately back at each others’ throats.

When Luke returned to the studio after his conversation with Julie it had sort of felt like the same thing had happened again. He’d thought he was finally making headway with Jordan, that they’d finally started back on the path to friendship after his birthday, or maybe even something more, and while things hadn’t totally changed, they felt different somehow.

She’d stopped hanging out with him in her free time. Instead, she spent the time holed up in the corners of the studio with her notebook or sitting behind the piano or her guitar, playing or strumming as she hummed softly. Luke wanted to help her out or tell her she sounded beautiful but he couldn’t help but notice how secretive she was being. They’d been working on songs together recently but this one she seemed determined to keep to herself.

When he entered the studio one afternoon to find her notebook on the couch, completely unguarded he couldn’t help himself. He blamed his overwhelming curiosity for why he picked it up despite knowing first-hand how sacred a song journal was.

When he found the partially written song at the back of the notebook he sucked in a breath, chest filling with hope at the lyrics on the page. It wasn’t much, only one verse and a chorus and what looked like half a pre-chorus but he couldn’t help but wonder if it was about him.

[Verse ?]

Bored of games why do you still play?

Back and forth, it’s always the same

You’re player one, I’m player two, who is she, player who?

Roll the dice and make your way

Pre-chorus

I know I’m hard but that’s part of it

You could leave but you are still here

and I’ve nowhere to go but ???

His mind whirled as he tried to work it out for himself. It screamed jealousy to him. She’d started writing after he’d had his conversation with Julie, so it wasn’t an unreasonable guess that he was “you” and Julie was “she.” She was jealous of him and Julie. But was it platonic? Was it more than that?

He was pretty sure he’d lost his damn mind in the hurricane of questions racing through his brain. It was the only explanation for the pure stupidity of what he did next.

“Moss, what’s this?” He asked when she found him with her notebook. Then he started to read off the chorus,

“I’m selfish, I’m selfish, I’m selfish

when it comes to you.

I can’t help it, can’t help it

crazy things that I do.”

“Give it back,” she snapped, cheeks flushing in what he later recognized as a mix of embarrassment and anger but at the time his brain ignored entirely, too caught up in an unthought-out attempt to confront her feelings.

“When I need you I come back to you.

I’m selfish, I’m selfish

when it comes to you.”

“I’m serious, Patterson. You don’t see me poking around in your notebook,” Jordan argued, grabbing hold of the notebook but not pulling it out of his hands.

“You don’t see me leaving my notebook lying around.” His body and his mouth were moving on autopilot but without a GPS as he responded cheekily, letting go of the notebook. Somewhere in the back of his mind, his rational brain was screaming at him to shut up but he just kept talking. “Who’s it about?”

“None of your business.”

Though his brain was on a self-destructive warpath, he couldn’t help but notice how adorable Jordan looked hugging the notebook to her chest protectively. Though, the adorableness factor was negated slightly by the death glare in her eyes.

“I think it’s about me,” he announced smugly, leaning back against the couch haughtily as if daring her to contradict him.

What the hell are you doing, man?

“I think you’re a dumbass,” she spat, and just like that she was gone, poofing away.

He leaned forward, putting his head in his hands with a groan as he realized what he did.

For the next day and a half, he could feel how the atmosphere between them had grown frigid. He’d tried to apologize a few times but every time he got close she would poof away, clearly not wanting to hear from him. What interactions they did have in those couple days were short and snide, laced with venom and insults. The behavior didn’t seem out of the ordinary to the rest of the group, but to Luke, it felt like he’d just stepped from the warm beach into ice-cold water and it was all his fault.

Luke was on the brink of losing his mind again when he went out on a limb that night. He, Alex, and Reggie were about to go out exploring like they did most nights after all the lifers went to sleep and he really wasn’t keen on leaving Jordan in the studio to stew in her anger.

“C’mon, Moss, we’re going exploring!” he called up to the loft. Deciding he’d given her enough space, it was time for ambush mode.

“And why would I want to go anywhere with you?” She called back venomously, not even deigning to come to the railing of the loft or poof down to speak to him face-to-face.

He sighed, clenching his eyes shut briefly before exhaling heavily and speaking.

“Look, I’m sorry, alright?” He called back, wishing he wasn’t doing this in front of Reggie and Alex. “I shouldn’t have gone through your notebook, it was a dick move.”

Luke was surprised at how quickly she forgave him, poofing down only moments after he apologized. He stared at her surprise, his body more relaxed now that she was spending time with them again. He hoped Alex and Reggie weren’t watching him, afraid they might somehow see the pure relief and adoration that he felt for her. Maybe he was being dramatic, but he swore he stopped breathing when she finally turned to look at her. He was totally screwed.

___

The next morning was quiet, though it felt like everything had gone back to normal. Jordan was sprawled across the couch which Luke had stopped trying to claim possession over, it was his couch but at this point, it might as well have been hers. Alex was sitting across from him making a friendship bracelet that he secretly hoped was for him but thought might’ve been for Willie, and Luke was reading his book. Things were really starting to pick up in the characters’ quest and he was apparently so invested that he barely recognized Reggie’s arrival until he heard the word “gig.”

Just like that he was on his feet along with Jordan and Alex, quest entirely forgotten as they all started blurting out questions.

“Where?”

“When?’

“How?”

Reggie excitedly explained how they were having a garage party at the house so that their band could perform and Ray and some of his colleagues would record them professionally for the band’s YouTube. Then Reggie patiently explained what a YouTube was and Luke briefly wondered when he’d learned more about modern technology than the rest of them. He supposed Julie did give him that iPod.

“We’re gonna record a music video? Like on MTV?” He exclaimed excitedly after Reggie had explained.

“Yes, dude! And Julie says if we get enough views we could go big!”

Luke gaped at his three bandmates, trying to come up with a vocalization for the thoughts flying through his head. All of a sudden there was a lot at stake for this event, the whole world would be able to see their performance. It had to be perfect. They needed to practice, hell they needed to pick a song.

He needed to talk to Julie.

When he reappeared in the school hallway he realized he probably should’ve told the group where he was going but it was too late now.

“What’re you doing here?” Julie asked him after getting over the initial shock of his sudden appearance.

“We need to talk about what song we’re gonna play tonight,” Luke said excitedly, grinning at the girl. “I was thinking Great?”

Julie held up a finger to signal she needed a moment before pulling out her phone.

“Wait seriously? You’re just gonna take a call while we’re talking? That’s so rude!”

Julie rolled her eyes at his dramatics before explaining, “Otherwise people might think I’m talking to myself.”

“Right, nice, okay,” Luke nodded, impressed by her quick thinking.

It was strange to be back in a high school hallway after so long, chatting with a cute girl by the lockers. The thought immediately brought the image of Jordan. Wow, he was really screwed.

“But yeah, I think Great is a… great choice,” Julie answered his question and he nodded, satisfied with the choice.

“Alright, sweet! Well, that was pretty much all I wanted to talk to you about so…”

“Oh! Okay,” Julie said, surprised.

“Actually wait- I wanted to talk to you about Jordan,” He started. He knew he and Julie had something between them but with these rising feelings about Jordan he’d been experiencing he didn’t want to lead her on. “Look, I, uh, I don’t really know how to say this but-“

“You have a crush on Jordan!” Julie gasped, effectively cutting him off.

His cheeks turned red and he scratched the back of his neck embarrassedly.

“Yeah- I mean, I don’t know but…”

“But you don’t want to hurt me,” Julie finished and Luke raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Wow, you are really perceptive Molina,” he said and she smiled.

“You don’t have to worry about me-“

“Sorry, my Patterson Idiocy Meter was going off,” Jordan explained as she suddenly appeared beside him, effectively putting an end to his conversation with Julie. “It lets me know when he’s doing something especially stupid.”

Luke rolled his eyes at the comment, sticking his tongue out petulantly at the girl and Julie gave him a knowing smile.

“Anyway,” Luke said dramatically, rerouting the conversation and turning back to Julie. “I was thinking, you should just ditch school today and come rehearse with us.”

He probably should’ve anticipated both girls’ protests but he still found himself trying to rationalize what he knew was a bad idea.

“Right, you were at school first, and now you’re leaving to go rehearse.”

“Stop trying to persuade her to do bad things!” Jordan chastised him, smacking his shoulder lightly.

“I really can’t. Plus I promised Nick I’d be his dance partner…” Julie explained, and Luke noticed Jordan wiggling her eyebrows at the mention of the name. He was clearly missing something.

“…and he’s heading this way,” Julie finished, pretending to hang up the phone in favor of talking to the blond-haired boy who just walked up.

“Well don’t you look sharp!” Julie’s reaction to his teasing told him all he needed to know about her feelings and the boy was not being sly about his at all. “Uh-oh, I think somebody’s got a crush on Julie!”

He couldn’t help it. It’s the designated role of all close friends to make fun of each other for their crushes. He knew by the way Julie had reacted when he’d told her about his (well, tried to tell her) that she was never going to let him hear the end of it. So, he dove right into it, mimicking Nick’s motions and facial expressions all with a playful glint in his eyes.

“Oh he is just too cute,” he teased when the blond lifer finally walked away.

“Boundaries,” Julie reminded him with a roll of her eyes. “I’ll see you after school.”

She began walking away towards her class but Luke wasn’t ready to end the conversation.

“Fine! I guess we’ll just have to carry you tonight, just like we always do!” He called down the hallway and he could see Julie shake her head slightly in exasperation. “I know you’re smiling, Molina!”

“Shut up, Luke,” Jordan rolled her eyes, smacking his chest lightly and he sent her a cheeky grin. “Good luck Julie! You’ll do great!” She called after the girl and Luke awed internally at the support.

“Yeah! Kill it on the dance floor!” He joined in, shuffling smoothly across the floor as he yelled.

“Dork,” he heard Jordan mutter and he snapped towards her, feigning upset despite how pleased he was at the attention he was getting.

“C’mon, we’ve gotta get rehearsing,” he spoke, brushing off the dramatics but she waved him off.

“I’ll be right there.”

He frowned, wanting her to come with him but he poofed away anyway, landing back in the garage between Reggie and Alex.

They immediately got to work, Luke walking them through Great. He felt bad doing it without Jordan since it was really her and Julie’s song more than anything, but he really wanted them to sound as best as they could. It was her song and they needed to do it justice.

They’d only just gotten through the basic structure and Jordan’s plans for the song, which she’d scribbled into the margins of his notebook pages while they worked on it together, when they were interrupted by a face in the window.

“Again? What’s all that about?” Reggie asked when Willie’s face disappeared from view, the boy clearly knowing he’d been caught.

Luke shrugged in response, just as lost as the rest but Alex stood, seemingly determined to get answers this time as he poofed out.

Despite their typical itch to snoop, the two boys gave Willie and Alex their privacy, instead moving over to their respective instruments to tune and warm up while they waited.

Luke could tell something was off when Alex returned but the blond-haired ghost had gone straight for his drumset, insisting that they start rehearsing. So, Luke didn’t push it, until about halfway through the song Alex got a little too into his drums, no longer playing along.

“Alex are you alright?” He asked sincerely once he’d stopped playing.

“Yeah... yeah, why?” Alex asked, trying to brush it off but Luke and Reggie had already connected the dots.

Alex only ever played like that when he was upset and since he was in a good mood before Willie showed up, it wasn’t difficult to figure out.

“I know it’s tough man. People say you never forget your first ghost.” Reggie spike sympathetically, “but... I’m sure there will be others.”

“Yeah, thanks Reg,” Alex nodded and Luke stepped forward, clutching his guitar strap as if to brace himself. He wasn’t very good at expressing things outside of music.

“Yeah, and Alex, you’re a great drummer and a great guy, okay?” He said, leaning onto the drumset slightly as he spoke. “I wouldn’t let all that stuff get in between you and what you love.”

Alex nodded and Luke finally noticed Jordan’s presence in the studio. He’d started to take steps in her direction to ask when she’d gotten there when Reggie spoke up again.

“I don’t know, sometimes a little fire onstage can make things better,” he said suggestively and Luke froze in the center of the band setup. “Like you and Julie.”

His head immediately snapped towards Jordan, trying to gauge her reaction to the statement. He was already certain she thought there was something between him and Julie, she’d written a whole song out of jealousy after all, but he needed her to know that wasn’t true.

“Uh, what... what is that supposed to mean?” Luke asked, trying to play innocent and hoping Reggie would get the hint and back off.

“C’mon, everyone can see the way you look at her when you sing,” Reggie chuckled, clearly not understanding. “You guys ooze chemistry.”

“Please never say ooze again,” Alex said to Reggie before turning to Luke, “But you have to agree he’s right.”

“No, no.” Luke denied vehemently, chancing another nervous glance at Jordan only to find she had become suddenly very interested in her shoes. “I have chemistry with everyone I sing with.”

It felt like a reasonable excuse to him, and it wasn’t exactly wrong. He did have chemistry when he sang with people, but it wasn’t because of the person, it was because of the music. Still, Reggie and Alex gave him looks of disbelief and he huffed and rolled his eyes.

“Seriously, watch,” he said, taking a determined step towards Jordan. Sure he was trying to prove a point to the guys, but maybe he could prove something else to himself and Jordan.

Still, before he could even take another step she stopped him.

“You’d better take that step back,” she demanded, not even looking up from the floor and his heart sank.

He shook it off with a sigh, still determined to prove his point to the guys. So he turned on his heel, confidently stepping towards Reggie as he began to sing.

“I believe, I believe that we’re just one dream away from who we’re meant to be.” When he got close enough, he slipped his hand around the back of the bassist‘s neck, pulling their faces even closer together. “That we’re standing on the edge of… great.”

He winked at the boy when he finished and stepped back, watching with a smirk as Reggie gulped. Mission accomplished.

“Wow,” Alex remarked, “I see chemistry.”

“Yeah, that was pretty hot,” Reggie admitted, voice cracking as he spoke.

Riding on the high of his success, Luke took it one step further, kissing two of his fingers before placing them on Reggie’s lips. When he heard a giggle from behind him he whirled around to grin at Jordan, elated that he could turn her mood around. She rolled her eyes in response but he didn’t care. He was starting to think maybe they were a sign of endearment from her with how much she did it.

“Girls, amiright?” Reggie croaked out and Luke chuckled.

“Yeah,” he agreed and Alex quickly chimed in.

“No,” the drummer said definitively with a light chuckle.

Jordan barked out a laugh at that, poofing over to the drummer to give him a high five before poofing back to the front of the band setup. Luke shook his head at that, ducking his head to hide his smile as he slipped his guitar strap back across his body.

Practice went smoothly after that, though Jordan and Reggie insisted on messing around until Julie got there. He felt kinda lonely with Jordan now hanging out on Reggie’s side of the setup but it was worth it to see her smile and hear her laughter. He didn’t even have the heart to tell them to take this practice seriously since they had a performance tonight. When the hell did he become so whipped for a girl he wasn’t even sure liked him back?

He couldn’t begrudge them their fun, even screwing around Jordan and Reggie were some of the best musicians he knew and it was obvious when Julie got there. They only had an hour of true, focused rehearsal with the whole group yet it sounded amazing. Still, Luke was nervous. If he’d had his way, they would’ve practice until it was perfect but he knew that wasn’t reasonable.

Luke was bummed when Jordan left to get ready in Julie’s room. He figured they needed their “girl time” or whatever but- though he’d never say it out loud- watching Jordan do her makeup had become part of his pre-performance routine and he was a bit fascinated by the whole ordeal. Instead, he spent the time leading up to their performance reading his book or talking with Alex and Reggie.

Luke’s nerves didn’t present themselves outwardly as much as Jordan’s did. It was something he’d noticed back when they’d both started performing. When Jordan got nervous she moved, flicking and shaking her hands, bouncing in place, anything to stop her standing still. Luke, on the other hand, internalized his nerves. He would become uncharacteristically quiet the closer he got. When he first started performing for crowds his hands would tremble, something he’d had to figure out how to counteract pretty quickly because it’s really hard to play the guitar with shaky hands.

Still, pre-performance nerves were when his insecurities popped up the most so when he looked up and saw Jordan, Alex, and Reggie all holding hands in the garage while Julie started the song, he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He probably looked like a kicked puppy but he felt like one. His bandmates had left him out of something.

As if reading his thoughts, Jordan reached her hand out to him in a silent invitation to join whatever pre-show ritual they’d started without his knowledge. As soon as he took her hand he understood why they did it: silent solidarity. A small but strong reminder that they were in this together. Then Jordan squeezed his hand lightly, giving him just enough time to squeeze back before they were poofing onstage, well, onto the driveway.

Julie and Jordan were electric in center stage and all five of them were sounding great (no pun intended). Everything was going perfectly until Luke nodded his head at Jordan, silently asking her to come share his mic but she pointedly ignored him. Luke furrowed his brow in confusion as she angled her body away from him as she picked up the next verse.

Maybe it was a mistake, he thought, trying it again as he and Julie joined her vocals.

“Sometimes we gotta lean, lean on someone else to get a little help until we find a way,” they sang together, and Luke frowned slightly. Those lines had always made him think of Jordan, especially after his birthday and it hurt extra that she was ignoring him.

He tried to ignore the stab of jealousy he felt when she moved to the other side of the setup to sing to Alex by focusing on the music and singing with Reggie but it didn’t fully work. He still wanted her attention and he wanted to know why he wasn’t getting it.

His wounded puppy eyes were fully intact when he stepped up beside where Julie crouched on the piano to play his guitar solo. She gave him a sympathetic smile before shrugging lightly, seemingly understanding why he was upset but also unaware as to why he was being shunned. It made him feel a bit better, at least he wasn’t the only one in the dark. As the section came to an end he noticed her eyes flicking out to the crowd and followed them, spotting a familiar blond. He sent her a teasing wink as he hit the last note and she stood fully on the piano in what was a truly epic moment. That girl was a performer through and through.

He slid back to his microphone behind the piano, still hurt but pushing it aside to finish out the performance. Now really wasn’t the time to get lost in speculation and self-pity.

He was surprised when he and the guys returned to invisibility only to see Jordan still out there, singing and playing along with Julie. It was clearly a beautiful and emotional moment for the two and he wondered when they’d planned it. Still, that wasn’t his first question when he finally got time to talk to the ghost girl.

“Hey, so, how come you were ignoring me out there?” He asked her after the lifers had evacuated the driveway.

Reggie and Alex were playing some basketball on the hoop hanging from the garage door while Jordan was perched on the ledge at the end of the driveway, scribbling into her notebook.

“What are you talking about?” She asked, looking up to stare at him in confusion.

“During the performance… I wanted you to come sing with me…” he spoke, leaving pauses in hopes that she’d catch on and put him out of his misery but she never did. “C’mon Moss, I did the head nod and everything!”

“Those were for me?” She exclaimed, looking at him like he’d lost his mind, “I thought you were trying to get Julie!”

He felt the relief wash over him with those words. So it was just a simple misunderstanding.

The relief was short-lived, however, as the four of them were suddenly struck through with another jolt, sending the three guys sprawling to the ground and Jordan doubling over.

“Jesus fuck,” he heard Jordan curse as she clutched her chest and he groaned in agreement, pushing himself off the cement.

“That wasn’t like the other ones,” he said, “It’s getting worse.”

“Why is this happening to us?” Reggie asked, still bent over as he recovered.

“It’s because you guys are in serious trouble,” Willie answered, nervously approaching the four ghosts. “We need to talk.”

They all nodded in agreement, silently moving together before Willie poofed them to Hollywood.

They followed him along the Walk of Fame as he explained all about how Caleb’s stamp was the reason the jolts kept happening. That he’d stamped them to force them to work for him because they were too powerful.

“So, if we don’t join his club, the weird power outage thing continues until there’s no power left at all?” Reggie asked, crossing his arms over his chest nervously.

“Yes,” Willie answered, not meeting any of their eyes.

“What exactly happens when the power goes out?”

“That’s… that’s it. You’re done.”

Luke heard Jordan suck in a breath beside him, freezing in her tracks and the rest of the group slowed to a halt.

“Yeah, what do you mean by ‘we’re done?’” Reggie asked the question none of them wanted to hear the answer to.

“You just… you don’t exist… anymore. Not anywhere.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jordan slap a hand over her mouth as if to cover up a sob. He knew she was thinking about her parents, how she’d never see them again because of this and his blood began to boil.

“So what, we have to give up everything and work for Caleb for eternity?” He spat angrily, “That’s some club you guys got going on.”

He took a step back, reaching down discretely to grab Jordan’s hand, hoping to provide her with any kind of comfort and support.

“But there is another way,” Willie explained, “That’s why I’m here.”

“Another option?” Alex asked skeptically.

“Just please, hear me out.” Willie pleaded, and Luke shared a look with the other guys. “Alright. If you guys could figure out what your unfinished business is, you do it in time, you could cross over and be free from all of this.”

“Okay, so what’s our unfinished business?” Luke asked, squeezing Jordan’s hand reassuringly. He’d figure it out just for her.

“I don’t know,” Willie said. “But since you all died at the same time it could be something you all have to do together.”

Luke’s mind began whirling, trying to figure out what it could be. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he barely registered Willie departing, or Alex and Reggie talking.

“We have to figure out our unfinished business,” he insisted, finally joining in on the conversation.

“Yeah, man, and how are we supposed to do that? Alright?” Alex asked frustratedly. “There was so much we wanted to do.”

The combination of Alex’s words and him noticing the sign in the background brought upon Luke’s epiphany.

“Yeah, but the night we died, there was only one thing we wanted to do together,” he explained, pointing towards the Orpheum sign with his free hand.

Part 11

___

JATP Taglist: @meangirlsx @morganayennefertyrell

Sunset Swerve Taglist: @oopsiedoopsie23 @angryknightstatesmantrash @onlygetaway @deni-gonzalez @advicefromnixxxx @brooke0297 @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic @cordeliascrown

#jatp #jatp fic #julie and the phantoms #julie and the phantoms fic #luke patterson #luke patterson fic #luke patterson x oc #luke jatp #jatp luke #julie molina #jatp alex #alex mercer #nick jatp #jatp nick #reggie peters #jatp reggie #sunset curve #sunset swerve

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just-some-fiction · 3 years

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Just You and Me Part 36

Hey everyone, I'm trying to get the last few chapters up this weekend before Season 4 starts. I added something in this part that's super important and is an issue we see at times in the health science community and that's the abusive or dominant trait of certain professionals. It's something that happens quite a lot in rural areas as well.

Rio didn't get jealous. He was aware that he had a possessive streak, but he didn't get jealous. However, when he noticed Lucia spending a lot of time with one of the guys at work, he didn't like it. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, or that he thought she’d be unfaithful. They’ve been through enough to know the other was all in. What bothered him was the idea that another man thought it was appropriate to show interest in someone who was obviously unavailable. The idea of someone else taking her out for lunch or sharing any first with her that he should, grated on him like nothing else ever would. This dawned on him one day a few weeks after they got married.

"Wanna go eat?" he asked her one afternoon, kissing her cheek, "we could go to that new place you wanted to go to," they haven't spent time together in a while, both of them busy with their respective jobs.

She scrunched her nose, "Nah it's cool," placing her hands on his chest, "they weren't that great."

"You been already?" she nodded, "You go with Chuck?" he wrapped his arms around her waist as she got all the ingredients assembled for her famous hot chocolate.

"Uh no," she reached behind her to cup his neck, her fingers grazing against the inked skin, "I went with Jake from work," she shrugged, "he heard me talking bout wanting to go so he suggested we go."

Rio raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, simply licking his lip. He let it slide this time, instead pulling his wife close and kissing her neck while she got their hot chocolate ready. However, there was a tiny part of his brain that was sparking with rage at the thought of someone taking her to a restaurant that she wanted to go to. Pushing any murderous thoughts away, Rio focused on her voice as she told him about the food and how some people should rather stick to their roots rather than dive into another cuisine.

The next time this Jake guy's name popped up was a few weeks later. They were chilling on the couch, Lucia laying between his legs, her head on his chest as they watched a movie. Her one hand tucked under his shirt, tracing the ridges of his torso. She checked her phone when it went off and laughed. He just happened to see the name on the screen and he felt something stir in him.

"What's up mama?" he asked, stroking her hair.

"Nothing," she chuckled, "just my colleague sending me a meme," she showed him and he forced a laugh. The phone was still facing him when a new message popped up and what he read made his blood boil. 'We still on for lunch tomorrow?'

Pretending like he didn't see anything he waited a few moments before clearing his throat, "Wanna go eat somewhere tomorrow mami?"

"Sure," she said, "I'll reschedule my lunch plans I had for tomorrow," she squeezed his middle, "you and I haven't gone out for lunch in a while baby," lifting up she kissed him, "we can have sushi and you can entertain me with your killer chopstick skills," she teased him, they both knowing he was useless with chopsticks.

"Hey now," he stroked her cheek, "I might be useless with chopsticks but my fingers sure are talented in other skills," to emphasise this, his one hand slid down and kneaded her ass, causing her to gasp in surprise. Lucia laughed, moved higher up and smothered his lips with hers.

When he picked her up for lunch the next day, Rio noticed a guy glaring at the car, before his facial expression brightened up and he waved at someone. A few moments later, the passenger seat opened and Lucia climbed in. He chanced a glance at the guy once more and noticed him snapping a picture of his number plate - he saved that in the back of his mind for later.

“Hey papi,” Lucia leaned over and kissed him, resting her forehead against his for a few moments.

“Rough morning?”

“You could say that,” she laughed, “what is up with you gangbangers and always aiming for the stomach?”

He raised an eyebrow at her as they pulled away, “It’s the least effective way to kill someone,” she went on, “aim for the head, the stomach makes the hospital’s job harder,” she stretched slightly, “so many complications to deal with.”

Rio laughed, “I’ll keep that in mind mama,” kissing the back of her hand.

Over the next few weeks, Rio noticed a few things, since he saw that guy snap a picture of the car. Firstly, it was Lucia and her wedding ring. She usually wore it around her neck to work, for hygiene purposes, but recently it’s been glued to her finger. He also noticed she started putting her phone on silent while she was at home, something he was not okay with.

“Lucia I need to be able to get a hold of you if anything happens,” he told her when she missed three of his calls one evening.

“I was in the shower baby,” she shrugged.

One thing that became very apparent was something was spooking her though. She became very jumpy when she was alone for too long. One night Rio came home late and he found her sitting on the couch waiting for him, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Before he knew what was happening, his wife had her legs wrapped around his waist.

“Hey now,” he chuckled.

“Where were you?” she mumbled into his neck, “I was worried.”

That evening, while Lucia fell asleep curled into him, Rio laid awake, thinking over her strange behaviour, when a light caught his eye. Looking over, he noticed her phone screen lighting up with messages. Reaching over he looked at the notifications and frowned, it was an unknown number.

‘Lucia please return my calls’

‘You can’t ignore me forever’

‘I know you blocked my other number’

Rio put the phone down before he ended up smashing it. Who the fuck was this? Deciding to get to the bottom of this he made a quick phone call.

“Boss?” Julio answered, “Wassup?”

“I wake you?”

“It’s fine,” he heard the doctor yawn on the other side, “something wrong? Anyone hurt?”

“Nah,” Rio assured him, “we fine,” he sniffed, “I just have a question?”

“Yeah.”

“Is Lucia aight at work?” the line went quiet on the other end for a few seconds.

“She said she told you,” Julio sighed.

“Told me what Julio?”

“This guy,” his fellow gang member explained, “he’s sorta interested in her, been asking her out a few times.”

“Scuse me?”

“Tried telling him boss that she’s not someone to mess with,” Julio said, “she told him she’s married and I told her she needs to tell you she’s having problems with someone, but you know her boss,” he did. His wife was stubborn through and through.

“You tell him who she’s married to?” Rio raised an eyebrow while he listened.

“I did,” Julio admonished, “explained these aren’t people you mess with, ‘specially you,” Julio said, “can still hear Timmy Torez bone snapping that one time in tenth grade.”

“I never broke no kid’s bone,” Rio defended himself, “I dislocated his fingers that’s all,” he said nonchalantly.

“Just for taking Lucia to the fair,” Julio reminded him, “the fuck someone as good as Lucia see in you boss?” Julio laughed slightly.

“Ask her and tell me,” he sighed, “thanks for telling me man.”

Hanging up, he looked down at his wife. Lucia stirred in her sleep, moving further into him. Placing a kiss on her forehead, he wrapped an arm around her and fell asleep.

He was waiting for her outside of the hospital, nodding at some of her colleagues as they walked by. Most of the people who worked here or made use of the hospital were people from their world, some in the business while others were simply normal health professionals. This Jake guy wasn't from around town nor was he from the state. This morning he had Mick and Mike do a background check on him. Seems there’s been reports and rumors of sexual harassment at his previous job, which was swept under the rug. The boys were still in the process of getting more dirt on him.

Lucia smiled as she walked up to him, “Hey.”

“Sup mama,” he cupped her cheek and kissed her, "ready for lunch baby?" she nodded. He noticed she had her things with her and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh,” she laughed, “decided to take the afternoon off,” that was something she never did. Deciding now was not the time, he let it slide and took her for lunch, before taking her home, where he somehow remained as well for the rest of the day, submerged in a bathtub full of bubbles and a very handsy wife.

A few days later things came to a head. Just as Mike walked into his office at the warehouse, hold a print out, Julio called him, “Boss ima send you something the security guard gave me from the security cameras,” he heard Julio sigh, “you gotta see this.”

Rio frowned, looking up at Mick, who looked as though he wanted to be anywhere, but there with him, “Uh you gotta see this,” Mick handed him the printouts, “seems like this guy has a few complaints of sexual misconduct, harassment and stalking, that were swept under the rug a lot,” Mick swallowed, “and it seems like he has a type,” handing him the last page, “this was the last lady who filed a complaint at one of the hospitals in Seattle.”

Looking at the picture, Rio clenched his jaw. The lady in the picture looked exactly like Lucia. Grabbing his phone he opened the file Julio sent him. It was a grainy image of his wife standing at a workstation filling out paperwork, when someone walked up behind her and decided to grope her. He watched Lucia swing her elbow into the man’s gut and attempt to walk away, only to have him pull her back again. Before he knew what was happening, he somehow got up and made his way out of the office, Mick hot on his heels.

“Yo,” his right hand man called after him, “what’s the plan here,” by now Mike was with them as well.

“There’s something else too,” Mike handed him more papers, “turns out this guy googled how to bug a house.”

“Get me that mother fucker,” was all he said, before getting into his car. That afternoon, before Lucia got home, he got Cisco and Dags to do a sweep of the studio apartment and find any recording devices. They found one in the shower, one hidden in Lucia’s beside lamp and one in her underwear drawer. The last one was the one that really set RIo off, taking the devices and crushing them in his hands. When Lucia came home, he didn't say anything about the video or the debugging.

"Hey baby," he smiled at her. As he wrapped his arms around her, he noticed her flinch slightly and he had to force himself to keep calm. Ima kill this man, he thought. Lucia pulled him close and said nothing, burying her nose into his neck and inhaling.

"Are you sniffing me ma?" he chuckled.

"Mhm," she sighed and inhaled again, "you smell like home baby."

Rio said nothing, simply swaying them gently from side to side. Later on, Lucia told him about the incident at work and he listened, not saying anything about Julio sending the video. He simply pulled her towards him and stroked her hair as they laid on the couch. There was no way he was going to let this slide. Some asshole, with a sketchy history was making his wife feel unsafe at her place of work - a place that she loved - and he was not gonna back down from this.

"I'll take care of it, aight," he stated and he felt her sigh against him, "mama I know you don't like me jumping in on your problems, but i gotta with this one."

"Fine," she replied, closing her eyes as he massaged her scalp, enjoying the feeling of his long fingers threading through her hair. Soon her eyelids became heavy and she was dozed off. The last thing she felt was Rio placing a kiss on her forehead.

Jake was currently sitting in front of Rio, his eyes darting around the warehouse, searching for an escape route. Mick and Mike brought him in with a black sack over his head, his hands tied and a gag in his mouth. The asshole was red in the face when the sack was lifted, pupils dilated and his breathing shallow. There was a slight tremor in his body too.

“Now boys,” Rio grinned when they set him down in the chair, “is this how we treat our guests?” he laughed.

“He’s a doctor after all, does good for his community,” Rio gave the man a hard stare, “we should treat him with a bit more dignity and whatnot.”

Mick removed the gag and pretty soon Jake started babbling, “Please,” he sputtered, “I’ll do anything.”

Rio smirked at the other two, he was going to enjoy this. He knew men like this. He’s killed men like this quite a few times. Men like this guy hid behind the prestige of their professions and titles, while bullying and harming others. However, behind the money and titles, they were spineless weasels who needed to be euthanized.

“Oh I think you’ve done enough,” Rio chuckled, pulling the broken bugs out of his pocket he presented them to Jake, “over enough.”

He watched as the realisation dawned over Jake as to who he was, “Yeah,” he sniffed in disdain, “seems like we have a problem,” his eyes went cold.

“So what all you see with these,” he motioned to his closed fist that contained the bugs.

“Nothing,” Jake whimpered.

“Nah man,” Rio laughed, shaking his head, “these things were placed in some very specific places in my home and amongst my wife’s things,” he moved closer, “so ima ask you again,” this time his voice went low, “what did you see?”

By now Jake was paralysed with fear, “He don’t wanna say boys,” Rio looked over at Mick and Mike, “lucky for us you got the footage when you cleared his house right?”

“Right here,” Mick produced a flashdrive.

“Thanks man,” Rio took the flash drove and plugged it into a laptop on the table next to him, “boys wait outside for a few moments please.”

Flipping through the videos, Rio felt the rage start to bubble up inside of him, there were videos of her in the shower, some of them doing mundane things at home and a few of them in bed together. One thing he was relieved about was that there was nothing incriminating caught on camera. It seemed as though the cameras were timed to go on whenever she was at home. The last video he scanned through, was what set him into action. It was of the two of them making love a few nights ago, all you could see were their torsos, due to Lucia having knocked the lamp over in her haste to get on top of him that night. He watched as his wife came on top of him, her body shuddering.

Switching off the laptop, he pulled the flash out and crushed it under his foot. Standing up, he slammed the laptop shut and struck it against Jake’s head. It took a few more hits, before the body stopped twitching, but at the end, the scumbag was dead. He called Mick and Mike back in for clean up.

“Damn Rio,” Mike whistled.

“You two clean up the apartment?” he ignored Mike.

“Made it look as though he just left,” Mick confirmed.

“Good.”

That night RIo walked into his home, however, it felt like anything but home at that point. Lucia was standing in the kitchen area, making something to eat when he walked in. He still had blood on his hand but he didnt care, he pulled her towards him and held her.

“We're packing up tomorrow baby,” he murmured into her hair.

“What?” he proceeded to tell her about the bugging and the videos. Lucia didn’t waste anytime and started packing. Lucky for them, he already had a nice three bedroom place in mind uptown that he secured that afternoon. By the end of the week they moved into their new place, where they’d eventually raise their son for a few years.

#Rio good girls #Rio nbc #Good girls NBC #Nbc good girls #Just me and you #Lucia x rio #Lucia Solano #Johnny x Lucia #Mike Graceland #Mick good girls

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legends-live-in-memories · 3 years

Text

I Have Too Many Opinions. ep. 1

lmao. i got encouragement to post my opinions on fandom things and now i want to make a miniseries doing just that. so here i am. doing just that.

im putting it under the cut cuz this was 4 whole pages including the disclaimer. yes i put a disclaimer and i explain why.

Anyways, here is the first piece in what inevitably will become fandom info dump, this time on thomas astruc’s writing on miraculous ladybug. but only some of my opinions cuz we would be here all day otherwise.

So… a disclaimer before I begin…

I do not hate Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir (yes i'm using their government name). I am quite a fan of the show actually despite its faults. I am also older than the intended audience but was obviously younger when the show first aired which is how my interest was piqued (the fact that its been 6 years and only 3 seasons says more about the show than me being a fan for that amount of time but also i never want to rush content creators cuz they're doing their best) and due to my age, there will be inherent bias in my approach of what i'm about to say as there is in EVERY opinion. The fact that it is an opinion should imply the presence of bias but most people tend to lack the critical thinking skills required to draw that conclusion ANYWAYS…

If I did hate the show I would not have this blog nor would I be even writing this because i tend to not give more than 2 seconds of thought to things i actively dislike (some of yall should give this a try) and i'm allowed to like things that are designed for an audience that i was originally a part of but grew out of. (I don't suddenly stop liking things because I'm older despite what many younger fans seem to believe about older audiences. I also don't need to be ‘allowed’ to do anything cuz i wasn't asking for permission anyways.)

This will not be character bashing, astruc bashing nor fandom bashing cuz, again, that would imply i hate any of those elements and if i did, i would not dedicate brainpower to them. Analyses and criticisms of media are fun and engaging and required if you wish to produce good enjoyable content. Now most of this should be already assumed and self-explanatory but people on the internet like to play morality roulette roll dice on purity culture and I rather have documentation that I am in fact not bullying fictional 14 year olds or a grown man. But alas, people get trigger happy whenever someone has less than 1000000% positive opinions on something they like and will throw out words they can't define (gaslight, baiting, toxic, problematic, gatekeep etc) in an attempt to defend their blind devotion,

which is not needed, if you like something you never have to defend it, even if i don't like it. If you respond to anything I post saying you disagree with me, I will not argue with you. I won't debate back and forth and try to convince you that the things you like are wrong. Unless you are being absolutely tone deaf to what i'm saying, you wont get a negative reaction from me. So don't try to fish for a fight. Please. I got metaphorical hands for days and I'm mean, you don't want me hurting your feelings on the internet. Do yourself the favour. Difference of opinion is how we get diversification in media and is inherently a good thing. Now that that's out of the way, please don't ever let me have to say that again. I beg.

Now onto the fun stuff

I didn't know what I wanted as a first topic so my trusty internet friend @moonlitceleste suggested astruc’s writing…

AND BOI do i got some opinions on ole tommy boi. Again I don't hate the dude. In fact, he has worked on a few shows that had defined my childhood, including but not limited to W.I.T.C.H. (all eps available on youtube for those interested, 2 seasons, general fun time all around).

So I don't think he’s scum of the earth but I do think his approach to writing mlb specifically has more misses than hits.

The first big miss is that he has no idea how to write 14 year old girls. At all. Almost every girl he has ever written feels like some terrible archetype built entirely for marketability and childish projection and pubescent self-insert (kind of). He has never been a 14 year old girl. I have. In fact when the show first aired, I WAS around the (assumed) age of the mlb characters. The behaviour he passes off as quirky or awkward or just the character’s genuine personality tend to perpetuate harmful stereotypes of teen girls found in the media and are never actually addressed as harmful. they just get swept under the rug. Marinette’s exuberant collage of teen heart throb model boi Adrien Agreste and her very painful almost fan worship she has of him (which flip flops like a paper sandal in the rain) being portrayed as a cute school girl crush uwu, Chloe being the y7 Regina George, Alya being the token best friend of colour with her ‘sassy’ personality (i want y'all to imagine me eyerolling so hard i bust a vessel in my eye), Kagami being the very damaging Perfect Asian Child stereotype. And before y'all get on your dusty soap box and defend going on about “BUT IT'S FOR CHILDREN”,,,, know this.

i don’t give a solid fuck.

Not one.

Children arent stupid. Children are always going to remember the richy bitchy blonde who bullies the art kid, and the big kid, and the shy kid, and the non white kids, and was only nice to her equally rich white friend who she probably had a crush on or was only ever civil to her equally white lapdog. They're going to remember the half asian girl who was never allowed to actually be asian or the only black girl who existed solely as a soundboard for enabling bad habits or chastising the main character for the same habits she enables in the first place (boi aint THAT a topic for later). Like do i really need to explain that alya chastising marinette for taking max’s spot in gamer just to play with adrien rings absolutely hollow when she actively encourages her to sabotage the contest she’s in just so Kagami doesn't win?? Like I don't have to explain that right?? Again kids arent stupid and its quite something that Mari gets chastised for proving herself the best video game player regardless of her intentions just cuz it comes at the expense of max’s feelings/ego but is actively encouraged to sabotage not only kagami but herself by extension cuz kagami is ‘competition.’ Adrien is not a trophy to be won. And no I don't expect 14 yrs old to be perfect and to always make good decisions but these decisions are never addressed as being bad decisions. they get swept under the rug cuz those decisions were necessary for the ‘plot’ but astruc can barely keep characterization consistent and his characters suffer for it and it's the same children you preach are watching it that suffer as well. Cuz guess what? I KNOW 14 yr olds aren't like that cuz i've been there done that (this is the last time i'm saying that i promise) so I know astruc is just metaphorically throwing darts to figure out who says and does what without consideration for pre established personalities to drive the stalemate plot along. The same kids you say are watching this don't know that that's not how preteens work and will absorb and internalize those dynamics like baking soda and vinegar. Cata-fucking-strophically.

And I haven't even gotten to the boys yet. Which honestly doesn't require much explanation anyways cuz they suffer the same fate as the girls. Tired archetypes with nothing to give them life. Nino falls into Adrien’s person of colour token best friend who dates the female lead’s person of colour token best friend so they can have cute double dates uwu. Except the plot goes nowhere and we have no inclination of romantic development beyond moments that only act to actively convince me to anti ship the lovesquare (i don't want to do that so i self indulge in fanon that actually cares about the characters and plot. may i interest you in True Sight on AO3?). Max is the residential nerd but it doesn't matter (cuz he and everyone are dumbed down for the sake of ‘plot’), kim is the sports jock (which interestingly subverts the asian comedic relief stereotype but only barely) and luka is cute older guy ™ that wears black nail polish and is in a band. The point of all this is to say there is no depth in the characters. It's especially blatantly obvious with the characters astruc doesn't like (chloe). Again, it being a show for kids is not an excuse to be absolved of putting effort into the characters you make.

This is one of the biggest misses astruc has. I haven't even gone into all the nuances of this particular miss. And i havent gone into how that works against him in the plot either. Mostly because the plot itself hasn't gone anywhere and partially because I wanted to go into the plot (or lack thereof) separately as its own miss.

AND BOI is it a miss.

SO home boy astruc wanted to reap the benefits of a serial show with ‘engaging’ plot without putting in any of the work to make a linear storyline and relying on the episodic format for, again, marketability. You can't have the best of both worlds, you are not Avatar: The Last Airbender. Which btw has a lot less episodes and a desired end goal that didn't involve top dollar. Legend of Korra did but that's not the point and it had its failings with that too. I challenge you, tell me how many episodes actually contribute towards a plot point or introduce new thematic elements to the show? Can you name them? I can and I'm going to include the plot points that moved the story in some direction if only temporarily. Yes only temporarily for some of these and i will explain later. (if you're in the server you already saw this list *wink*)

25/26. Origins- self explanatory, the beginning of the story,

24. Volpina- introduction of the grimoire and Master Fu (kind of) and no, Lila is not a plot point,

28. The Collector- proper introduction of Master Fu,

37. Sapotis- introduction of Rena Rouge,

41. Syren- introduction of new aquatic power ups,

44. Anansi- introduction of Carapace,

47. Frozer- introduction of new ice power ups,

48/49. Style Queen- introduction of Queen Bee,

51/52. Heroes’ Day- introduction of Mayura and mass akumatization,

66. Startrain- introduction of Pegasus,

67. Kwami Buster- Marinette wears multiple miraculouses,

68. Feast- backstory as to how the miraculouses were lost,

69. Ikari Gozen- introduction of Ryuko,

70. Timetagger- introduction of Bunnyx,

71. Party Crasher- introduction of Roi Singe and Viperion,

73. Chat Blanc- alternate timeline that essentially means nothing but got a reaction out of fans anyways (myself included)

77/78. Love Eater/Battle of Miraculous- Marinette becomes guardian and other heroes lose their miraculous,

New York Special- other heroes exist and there is an American miraculous box,

That's 21 episodes. 21 out of a heaping 78 plus 2 specials. Everything else was just your typical akuma of the day episode and everything that happened outside that had no lasting consequences on the plot thanks to the miraculous status quo. Was it entertaining to watch Lila stir the plot of the class dynamic? Hell yeah. Too bad it meant nothing by the end of the episode cuz we were struck with miraculous status quo. She literally doesn't appear again until Heroes Day. that is from episodes 25 all the way to 51, she means nothing and yet she is treated with the severity of a b-villain/rival thing. She means nothing by the end of Volpina if I'm being honest. She is only relevant for 20 mins of episode time she’s in then it's back to magic status quo that undoes any shift in dynamics and relationships. It's like Spongebob who can't get his driver’s license. The worst part is I actually like Lila and I wish the story treated her with the seriousness we as an audience are expected to treat her with. Despite being painfully inconsequential by the end of each of the 3?? 4?? episodes she’s in, it's entertaining to watch a character create drama just because.

Too bad it means nothing.

Astruc is constantly building up suspense to something ‘important’ only for it to not deliver and fans are constantly having the rug pulled out from under us. Oblivio teased us with a reveal only that gets undone cuz memory akuma. Chat Blanc teased us with romantic development but that gets undone cuz time travel bullshit. Feast introduced more miraculous lore and the history of the guardians but that means nothing by the next episode or ever (i'm not including any reference to the season 4 trailer cuz i've been around the block a few times and im familiar with this lil dancy dance). Heroes Day teased us with a possible future team of heroes but that gets undone in Battle of Miraculous cuz ????? why?? (here's why; astruc was having a jolly ole time letting us know how irredeemable Chloe is at the expense of shooting his own stagnant plot in the foot. Again, discussion for later.)

Too bad anything that slightly swerves off course from the akuma of the day gets undone or ignored. Too bad nothing has any lasting consequence. I mean, if anything did, the episodes would have had a consistent order and release schedule so im not scrambling to watch the leaked ep in Portuguese or something while the french dub is two episodes behind while the english version hasnt even been dubbed. I really wonder how he plans to conclude the show when he’s so afraid to step out of the corner he painted himself in.

Again, not going into nuances. If you want you can ask for more specifics (i doubt anyone would) but this is really just a slightly detailed general overview of my opinions on astruc’s writing.

I was going to include another miss in his approach to this show but imma save that for another time.

How’s that for a ‘first’ post?

#mlb #opinions my guy opinions #i dont wanna tag this as salt #but mlb criticisms and analyses #IHTMO #the hashtag for this series #thomas astruc #miraculous fandom #miraculous ladybug #miraculous: tales of ladybug and cat noir #yes the government name again #come get yall juice #miraculous

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niksixx · 4 years

Text

Number 73

~Part 2!!! Read Part 1 first please!!!~

Requested: By many of you

Pairing: Axl Rose x Female Reader

Description: A continuation of part 1!! This fic takes place over the course of about two months. (It’s most likely unrealistic, but when is fanfiction ever real? This also has 2,634 words!!!! I got so carried away lmao ENJOY.)

Warning: Some cursing and mentions of sex (no smut...yet)

A/N: R E B L O G :)

*GIF is NOT mine. Found it on Google, so credit goes to the owner!*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I knew he was an asshole, but fuck that’s cold.”

Nodding at your best friend, you bend down to take a sip of your lukewarm coffee, shrugging. It’s been two days since you last saw Axl. The douchebag was all you could think about; Not even the sex you’d had.

You couldn’t fully place the blame on him. You were naive to think you’d mean anything to him, changing anything between the two of you. Like he said, you were just number seventy-three.

“Was it good at least?”

You grin, fighting the urge to spill all the details. “Hate sex is always good, Y/B/F, but hate sex with Axl? Unbeatable.”

She chuckles. “How many girls do you think he’s fucked since you?”

You think for a moment. “Well, I was seventy-three, so I’d say he’s probably at about seventy-eight now. I’m not mad that he has a lot of sex. I’m pissed off that I let myself be used by a man that doesn’t care about me. I wish other girls could see that, too.”

Commitment wasn’t in Axl’s vocabulary. He simply couldn’t bring himself to be loyal. In the years that you’d known the Guns N’ Roses singer, he’d never been in a relationship. Girls were simply his playthings. They served no purpose to him other than pleasure.

Still, even with his mood swings and deplorable attitude, you couldn’t deny your attraction. But you’d think twice about letting the redhead anywhere near you or your body. You wouldn’t be vulnerable. Not again.

On the way home to your house, you drop off Y/B/F. Before she exits the car, she turns to you, the corners of her mouth raised in a smirk. “So what are you going to do about it?”

“About what?” You ask, fixing your sunglasses in the rearview mirror.

She gives you a look. “Duh, about Axl. He humiliated you. He fucked you and threw you aside like you were nothing. If I were you, I’d give him a taste of his own medicine.”

You drum your fingers on the steering wheel, gears turning in your head. She had a point. “What, like, I should get even?”

Y/B/F shakes her head, eyes wild, and smiles wide. “Oh no, honey. You’re not just going to get even. You’re going to beat him at his own damn game.”

~~~

“Y/N?” Steven yawns, scratching his head as you push past him into the GNR apartment. Glass bottles and cigarettes litter the floor from last night’s party, and the place reeks of alcohol, smoke, and sweat. “What are you doing here?” He follows your eyes to the floor, wincing. “Sorry, I actually just woke up. Axl and Duff started cleaning but they went out to get pizza for lunch.”

“That’s actually perfect,” You’ve been over the apartment plenty of times before, almost as if it’s your own. The boys needed to find their own respective places, though, as four out of the five were ready to settle down. Grabbing a trash bag, you help Steven clean up the rest of the mess. “Look, I need your help. I trust you the most.”

Steven snickers. “Oh, no. Do you know who you’re talking to? I’m not the most reliable.”

“Maybe not,” you say, hands firm on your hips. “But I trust you to keep your mouth shut.”

Steven groans, taking a deep breath before situating himself on the couch. He waves his hand, “Proceed.”

“You all know Axl and I can’t stand each other,” Steven laughs heartily and you shoot him a hard look. “And after a long few days of thinking, I decided that what I hate, even more than Axl, is being used.”

“Yeah, he told me about your little uh…” He makes a face. “I know you had sex, let’s put it that way. You were number seventy-three, he wrote it down.”

“I’m sure I was the topic of--wait,” You furrow your brows, unsure if you’d heard him correctly. “Did you say he wrote it down?”

Steven nods. “Of course he wrote it down. How else would he keep track of all the girls he’s fucked? All the names are in a little brown book under his bed.” Steven’s eyes go wide, realizing his mistake. “I definitely shouldn’t have said that.”

Before Steven can react, you run down the hall and into Axl’s room, rummaging under his bed before your fingers graze a leather cover. You pull it out and flip to the most recent page, and there scribbled in black ink is your name, along with seven other girls’ names from the previous weekend.

“Son of a bitch,” you whisper, thumbing through the other pages. “Shelly Neilson, Diana Fox, Cait Burke, Jade Nichols, Ruby Thompson…”

“Wait a minute,” Steven says, peering over your shoulder. His jaw clenches as he rereads the last name. “Ruby Thompson?”

“What? She an ex or something?” You ask, skimming the first few pages, eyes bulging at the dates. “This book goes back seven years ago. Jesus, Axl.”

You feel Steven’s body tense beside you. You turn, and his face is stone-like. “Ruby Thompson is my goddamn cousin.” Mouth agape, you watch as Steven runs a hand over his face. “That fucking bastard. No wonder he never let any of us see this book.”

“Uh, what’s going on?”

You turn toward the doorway where Slash and his wife stand, eyeing you suspiciously. You give Steven a sympathetic look before turning back toward the door. “I need to find a way to get back at Axl for treating me like shit.”

“Look, I’m not defending him,” Slash begins, earning a warning look from his wife. “But you knew his track record and you still let him fuck you?”

“Okay, technically, because I rode him, I fucked him,” Slash and Steven snicker. “And yes, it was stupid, I realize that now. Having sex with him wasn’t going to fix any animosity between us. But he knows me personally, and he fucking hurt me. I won’t let him get away with it. Not this time.”

“So what’s your plan?” asks Steven.

“That’s why I came here,” you sigh, clutching the book to your chest. “I need your help.”

Slash thinks for a moment. “What does Axl hate more than anything in the world?”

Steven chuckles, shoving his hands in his pockets. “A lot of things. Competition. Second place. Being used,” Steven shoots you a wink. “And Y/N.”

“Exactly. Axl prides himself on having the most sex out of his whole friend group, right?,” Slash says, and his wife grins wickedly when she catches on.

“If we can keep Axl from having sex for a few weeks, that will give you a chance to reach his body count. He hates when others are good at something he’s good at. ” She says. Slash offers an impressive look. “Y/N, what’s your count?”

Your face flushes, and the two men glance at you expectantly. “Seventeen.”

Steven grimaces. “Seriously? We’re going to need at least a month, maybe more.”

“Hey,” Steven cowers when Slash’s wife pins him with a look. “In this house, we don’t shame women for liking sex and having sex just as much as men do. And compared to some men, seventeen is nothing.”

You send her a smile as a thank you. She nods back, grinning proudly.

“Alright, look,” Steven says, lips curling back in a quick smile. “I have three cousins who would love to help you get back at Axl. He crashed the first one’s car, stole money from the second, and slept with the third’s girlfriend. Come to think of it, she might actually be in here,” Steven reads through the book until he stops on a name. “Yep. Here she is. Misty Evans,” he snaps the book closed. “That motherfucker.”

“I have a brother you can use,” Slash’s wife grins. “And he has a lot of friends.” She wiggles her eyebrows excitedly.

“Okay, okay, hold on,” Slash holds up his hands. “It’s a good plan and all, but how in the hell are we going to stop Axl from having sex?”

~~~

73.

For two months, he was stuck at number 73.

Which was, by far, the best sex of his life.

And it just so happens it was with the person he hated most in the world.

Axl couldn’t get it out of his head. The way your eyes looked him up and down, daring him to leave and begging him to stay at the same time. Your soft lips that he was desperate to kiss again and feel on his skin. The breathy moans that were music to his ears. He’d be breaking his rule if he slept with you again, but Axl’s craving for your body had him considering wiping out the rule altogether.

His attempts to get you off his mind continued to fail as more and more women began to reject his advances. One minute he’d strike up a conversation, and the girls would be all for it, but as he returned from the bathroom or from a quick smoke break or the bar with another drink, they avoided him. Shot him dirty looks. Pretended they weren’t just all over him a few minutes prior. He didn’t understand, and it was driving him crazy.

Little does he know, whenever he leaves, you take his place, quickly showing the girls Axl’s book that hides in your purse, before urging them to stay away. So far, every girl that he’s tried to woo into his bed has shunned him. Many of the girls recognize their own friends in Axl’s book, and they promise you to stay away from him. It was dirty, it was evil, but no one ever wins by playing a fair game.

While he was constantly facing rejection, you were thriving. Axl noticed that whenever you came out with the group, men flocked to you instantly, more than they had before. You’d barely said three words to him since the night you’d slept together, and hadn’t even looked him in the eye.

He’d buy you drinks, only for you to mutter a quick thanks without returning the favor. Despite not being the best dancer, he’d offer you his hand at the clubs, only to be met with laughter from his bandmates as you accepted another man’s offer. And what blew his mind? Many of the guys looked...familiar.

From his seat at the booth, Axl could see a man shamelessly flirting with you at the bar. He grit his teeth, hand clenching around the bottle in front of him.

“Uh, dude?” Duff signals to the beer. “If you want to practice your chokehold, I’m sure there are plenty of chicks in here who would be more than willing to help you out, if you know what I mean.”

Axl’s eyes never left you. “What the hell is going on with Y/N?”

“What do you mean?” Steven asks innocently, shooting Slash a sly grin. “She’s having a drink at the bar.”

Axl turns to Steven, narrowing his eyes. “I can see that, you dumbass. I mean, why the hell hasn’t she spoken to me?”

“The hell do you care?” Izzy answers, taking a swig of his tequila. “You hate each other anyway.”

“I just don’t think I’ve ever seen her so...relaxed.” Axl remarks, bringing his beer to his lips.

“I mean, I’d be too if I was having as much sex as she was,” Slash grins, dropping a teasing wink in his wife’s direction.

Axl pauses, brows drawn together. “What the fuck do you mean?”

Hesitantly, Slash’s wife clears her throat, chiming into the conversation for the first time that night. “Alright, look, this does not leave the table, hear me?” When everyone nods, she continues. “I promised I’d keep this to myself, but Y/N’s had sex with twenty guys in the past five days.”

Axl’s eyes nearly roll out of his head when the table laughs. He seems to have missed what was funny.

“No shit!” Duff laughs, clapping his hands together.

“That’s fucking impressive,” Izzy smirks.

“So what does that bring her count to total?” Steven asks, fully aware of Axl’s bright red face. He laughs to himself. The singer was hopeless, making it way too easy for the group to fuck with him.

“Seventy bodies,” Slash’s wife cocks her head to the side. Something about her words, her gesture, is taunting. “How many did you say you had again, Axl?”

“Seventy-three,” he says through gritted teeth.

“Wait,” Izzy and Slash say together, “You haven’t fucked anyone since Y/N?”

“Dude, that was over two months ago,” Duff says in a teasing manner.

“It’s not like I haven’t fucking tried!” Axl exclaims, slamming his palm down on the table. He takes a deep breath, finding his composure, and lowers his voice. “I keep getting rejected and I don’t fucking know why.”

“Oh, the horror,” Izzy says, rolling his eyes. “All will be right in the world when Axl finds some random chick to bang.”

Slash and his wife snicker and share a look. Axl shakes his head. He senses something is wrong, but he can’t call anyone out without proof.

Something about you having almost the same amount of bodies as him didn’t sit right. No one in his life even came close. Then again, no one was so obsessed with sex like Axl was. No one was so open about their sex life.

Against his better judgment, Axl finds himself striding toward the bar, visibly irritated as the man next to you rests his palm right above your ass. Axl grabs the man’s wrist and pulls it from your body, pushing him away from you. He ignores the man’s protests, throws back the rest of whatever piss warm beer the dude had been drinking, flips him off, before turning back to you.

The shock on your face is evident. “There is something seriously wrong with you. What the hell, Axl?”

“Seventy bodies?” Axl says, voice condescending. “Some prostitutes don’t even have that many.”

Your blood boils and you swear to yourself you see red. The audacity of this man to shame you. “I see you’re still a dick. What the hell does it matter to you, huh? What’s your problem?”

“My problem?” Axl’s laugh is light, breathy, as he restrains himself from screaming. “My problem is that I haven’t fucked something in two months. I’m going fucking feral.”

“Seems like a you problem,” you retort, puckering your lips before taking a drink. Axl’s book suddenly feels heavy in your purse. You sneak a look to make sure the purse is properly zipped before glancing back to the fuming redhead. “What would you like me to do about it?”

It all comes out in a rush. “I don’t know! Suck my dick, ride me, do something!” Axl cringes when you giggle, face heating. Holy fucking desperate.

“Are you...is Axl Rose...begging?”

He throws his head back in annoyance. This wasn’t going as planned. “I--no. Fuck. Ignore that. Can’t we just go back to my place or something?”

“I thought you didn’t fuck the same girl twice?” You remind him of his words, and you can tell by his face he regrets saying them.

But he remains cool, standing up straight, all the while contradicting his previous statement. “I don’t.”

Finishing your drink, you set it to the side. Batting your lashes, you step forward, a mere centimeter apart from Axl’s face. His breath is raggedy, lips parted, and you see it coming. He leans forward to kiss you, but you’re too quick. Brushing your lips against his ear, palm flat against his chest, you utter the words as confidence floods your veins. “If you don’t want the same pussy twice, then what makes you think I want the same dick twice?”

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